Neutrality
by 321Z3R0
Summary: Sent to Tartarus for reasons that were far beyond stupid, yet gaining a whole new world of understanding and power, Percy struggles to remain a neutral figure in the mythological world. Having made friends on both the gods side and the titans/primordials, he must struggle to maintain his neutrality in a world where power like his will never be allowed to roam free. Pertemis OocPerc
1. Hell Ain't So Bad

A/N: Hey, people of the internet. I have a gift for you... A FREE STORY! No, you can't have it, but you can read it. Now, this doesn't mean I'm giving up on any other stories I have going(aka that one), but I feel like taking a break from Naruto and going to a series I enjoyed around the same time period as Naruto... kinda. This beginning is gonna take place after Jason and the other's are "slapped" back to Long Island by Zeus, though some past events are gonna get changed. That's about it. Oh, I don't really like the general dialogue format with the new lines for each person, so unless people have a problem with it, I probably won't use it. Seriously, it annoys me at times.

* * *

As Percy watched Jason go up into the sky, he had a VERY bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. In his mind, he asked himself, _'He's... he's gonna die up there, isn't he?'_ His own voice responded to him. _'Either him or Leo. Or you. Storm doesn't have to be him, you know. Storms can't form without water. Water is everywhere, even in the air, and especially in you. Besides, you've made pretty big storms before haven't you.'_ He only had a few more seconds to deliberate, but as he stared at Jason, Piper in his arms, he couldn't let him do it. In that instant, something snapped for him. He could feel all the thoughts that flew around in his head get... focused. All the sounds of battle seemed to fade away, the general hyperactivity that came with being a demigod just seemed to become... muted. Even the voice in his head seemed to go away, and that was his own voice.

Acting in this trance-like state, he raised his hand, and Jason was grabbed by a hand of water. Water burst forth from within him, and brought him upward, in a similar fashion as Jason with his wind. "I can't let you Jason. You and Piper have so much left. So much to live for. So much living to DO. Your life was stolen from you, your love was fabricated, and if you do this, you may never get to validate it for yourselves. You don't have to be the storm. I'll do it." He didn't even know that he knew how to use validate in a sentence, but the words just seemed to flow from within him.

As Jason was about to protest, trying to tell him that Hera had stolen much of his life as well, he saw Percy's eyes, and for once, they weren't sparkling. They weren't gleaming with mirth. They weren't happy. They showed grim conviction. "Are... are you sure." Giving him a wry smile that seemed out of place on him, he responded, "Tell Annabeth not to hit me too hard in Elysium... or if I come back... Gods, she's gonna murder me." Shooting up, he pulled together a hurricane around him, going for the strongest one he could. Unfortunately for him, said hurricane made him unable to hear Piper telling him to take the Physician's cure. Catching up to Leo, he just said "Sup!" before sending a pressurized jet of water at Gaea, forcefully eroding half of her face.

Leo, even in the hurricane swirling around him, through the winds and rain, was still burning like the sun, forcing all the water that came too close to him to evaporate instantly. Grinning in his own crazy fashion, he shouted over the wind, "Glad you could join the party, Aqua Lad! Was expecting Superman, but I'll take what I can get, ya know. You're making it a bit harder to burn her face off though." As he said this, he threw some flames at the aforementioned face which was in the process of reforming.

Gaea attempted to dissolve into sand, but Percy just surrounded her in water, dragged her back together, and molded her into a humanoid shape, forcing her to reform. As she did so, her movements were sluggish and sloppy. Well, as sloppy as you can be called when thrashing around in a giant mechanical dragon's claw. Every shard of earth she'd throw to attack them, which was little more than mud by that point, moved so slow that Percy could just blast through it, hitting her in the process.

Festus himself was blasting her with fire, following Leo's example, all the while climbing higher and higher, his wings straining so hard you could hear it over the hurricane. Gaea was so far out of her domain, for the first time in just about forever, that she just felt... weak. No other words could describe it. As they were heating her to extreme temperatures before cooling her down with pressurized water, she eventually just came to a stop, only being able to throw an occasional ball of mud.

Leo wasn't looking to good at that point. He may have been unable to sweat with his body surrounded in flames, but the strain was plain on his face... or what could be made out on his face. It looked like flames under his skin were about to burst out, consuming him and everything around him in an accurate imitation of the sun. At that point, Leo shouted to Percy, "Get out of here Percy! I can't contain the flames much longer! I'll just vaporize her in the explosion."

That was what Percy was expecting, and that was what he wanted to prevent. "NO!" he shouted over his own hurricane. "I can make it! I survived Mt. St. Helens. Hades, I CAUSED it. Actually, let me take her off planet, into space. I don't think she'll be able to return at all from that. With my water, I MIGHT be able to survive long enough to get back before the vacuum kills me. Your flames can't burn in a vacuum, though." Never before had Percy been as thankful for listening to at least a little bit of science class than today. Unfortunately, he didn't know that a protogenoi couldn't really die.

Leo just shook his head vigorously, which would be rather amusing, if not for the situation, with his face looking like liquid flames covered by actual flames. "Screw that, man! I WILL survive! I have a plan, I just need you to trust me!" Percy just looked into his flaming eyes, which were beginning to fade a bit from lack of oxygen to burn, and, with a reluctant sigh, nodded. He let himself descend to the point where he'd probably be safe from whatever Leo was doing and watched, visibly worried and ready to step in and stop him if need be.

Leo, on the other hand, just yelled, "THIS IS FOR MY MOTHER, ESPERANZA VALDEZ!" With that, both he and Festus became an increasingly brighter ball of flames in the sky, and Percy realized that whatever was about to happen would be an a completely different scale from Mt. St. Helens' eruption. He tried to rocket back towards the ground, using his water as a propulsion system, but as he was attempting it, something, or someone, screaming in a very girly manner flew by him, on a crash course with Leo. He didn't have a chance to look back, because he was hit with the force of an explosion from behind, making his entire world go black. The last thing he was able to process was a resounding _'OW!'_ coming from every bit of his body.

* * *

 **Unknown amount of time later-**

* * *

The world slowly came back into focus for Percy, though everything seemed... different. Slowly, he realized that he was underwater. Good thing he was Poseidon's kid. As everything that had recently happened came back to him, he could only wonder, ' _How hard will Annabeth kill me when I get back?'_ Shaking his head, he felt that he was a few miles off the coast of Long Island, making his journey a rather simple one. Willing the sea around him to push him where he knew camp was, he rocketed away.

After a few minutes of high-speed swimming, and the occasional slowing/stop to greet Hippocampi, Mer-people, and even a few Ichthyocentaurs on a trip, he arrived at camp half-blood. Climbing onto the shore, he saw that they were burning shrouds. Despite not being the most stealthy person, he hid in a tree, kinda wanting to see what kind of shroud they'd give him. As names and shrouds went by, he became rather sad, feeling the weight of every one of the deaths on his shoulders. Shaking his head, he remembered what Annabeth had once told him. _'They fought and died of their own accord to protect their home. Don't try and take anything away from that sacrifice!'_ He just bowed his head in respect until they reached him.

Putting on a smile, he jumped out, landing in front of the fire, before seemingly inspecting the shroud. "Hmmm... I would've thought I'd get a more bad-ass shroud, but beggar's can't be choosers." On it, there was a sheet of sea green that shimmered as it moved through the air and and a trident crossed with a replica of his sword, Riptide. The whole things smelled like the sea, which was a smell he would always love. Looking away, he observed the faces of everyone present before he said, "So, did you guy's miss me?" His only answer was silence until Annabeth tackled him, knocking the air out of him and sending them flying.

As he regained his vision, wondering how many trucks decided to use his body as the road, he saw Annabeth crying into his shirt without restraint. He lost his smile as he looked at her, feeling extremely guilty. All he could do was hug her back and whisper, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." After about a minute of this, with the Aphrodite girls tearing up from the reunion, they got up, and she punched him in the stomach. Hard. He fell to one knee, holding his stomach in pain. "That," she began, after wiping her eyes, "was for making me, us, worry." Leaning down, she kissed him on the forehead. "And that is for coming back." Percy eventually straightened himself out and stretched.

Looking over at Nico, he asked, "How many?" When all he got in response was a shake of the head, he knew the answer. Too many. Integrating himself into the group of demigods, he allowed the ceremonies to continue unhindered, the mood becoming somber once more as the shock and happiness from his reappearance faded back into their memory. As everything continued, they eventually reached the last shroud, Leo's. At this one, Percy couldn't keep his mouth shut. "What? I don't think he's dead. I had backed up because he'd said he had a plan, and while him nor Festus were falling down to Earth after the explosion like I was, though they may have just been out of my sight, I'm sure neither of them are gone." Annabeth gave him an odd look, finding his change of speech rather odd, as did many demigods who knew him well enough. Percy either ignored them or didn't notice them, because his eyes were glued on Nico.

All he got in response was hopeful looks from everyone. Everyone but Nico. He shook his head and spoke, drawing everyone else's attention to him. "He died. I felt him die." As Nico looked around, he saw faces fall at his confirmation. This spurred him on to give another piece of information he'd learned. "But," he continued, regaining everyone's attention. "His death felt... different. There was something off about it, something not... not right. It's not just because he's a demigod, or because he's powerful. I already felt multiple demigods fall, and even Luke's fell into a category of types of possible death. There is a chance, however slim, that he is out there."

With their hope rekindled, all the demigods, Roman and Greek alike, moved off to enjoy the rest of the day as best they could.

* * *

 **Next Day** \- Midday

* * *

Percy was sitting on the bottom of the camp lake, his favorite place to relax and process life. He'd found out, from Annabeth, that he'd been gone for a while, a week and a half to be exact. During that time, the feud with the Roman's had been sorted out, and most all of them had been able to stop fighting. Those that weren't were dealt with by the gods directly, apparently. _'I guess they really meant their promise...'_ Feeling a tug on the back of his shirt, he turned to see a naiad behind him, though she blushed a bit when he turned to her.

Giving her a small smile, he nodded to show that he was listening. Clearing her throat, though it sounded a bit odd to him underwater, she began. "Your father wishes to speak with you, My Lo- Percy." She corrected herself at the look he gave, not enjoying being referred to as above anyone else in the slightest. Nodding, Percy smiled. "Sure thing. Haven't seen dad in a while." Thanking her once more, he shot off once more, flying out of the lake.

He went to find Chiron to let him know that he had to go. Thankfully, Annabeth was with him, relieving him of the need to find her. "Sneaking up behind her, he draped an arm around her shoulder, making her jump. Laughing, which alerted Chiron to his presence, he said, "Hey." Getting a punch from Annabeth as his own greeting, he grinned at them both. Chiron greeted him in return before saying something. "Ah, hello Percy. I was just looking for you. Could you please oversee the next sword fighting class. The camper that was supposed to is... still getting over somethings."

Percy's grin fell at that, remembering the war that just took place. Sadly, he had to decline. "Sorry, but dad wants to speak with me. If it wasn't really important, he'd tell me in a dream or next time he saw me. I should probably go. Sorry." Chiron's sigh made Percy feel all the worse, but Annabeth saved him. "I said I could take the class, Chiron." "I'm aware, but we both know you have other duties and need rest every so often. I'd rather not stress you unnecessarily."

Percy just left as they argued, knowing that Chiron wouldn't win anyway. Walking over to the beach, greeting people as he went, he made his way into the water. Allowing himself so get pulled in, he felt it pull him towards something, presumably his father's palace. Letting himself get guided to his destination, he resumed thinking about everything that had gone on recently. _'I know Leo's still out there. He had the actual cure, so he could've...'_ Deciding not to give himself false hope, as he'd been gone for a while, and he had his own element to heal him. _'If he is out there, I hope he's happy.'_ Percy's thoughts were interrupted, again, when he saw his dad's palace and felt an increase in his godly presence.

Using his own control over water, he propelled himself down to the sea floor, landing in front of the palace. Making his way to where he felt his father's presence, he found him in the throne room, though he was currently arguing with Amphitrite and Triton. Respecting their privacy, he stood outside the throne room, waiting on them to finish. To stop himself from eavesdropping on them due to boredom, he returned to his thoughts, doing his best to stay focused in the state of random thought that normally accompanied his boredom. _'If anyone could've survived, I'd say Leo could've, but...'_ Another part of him chimed in. _'Don't let other people's doubts bring you down, man. You, WE, believed in him when we let him do it. He's fine.'_ Oddly, hearing a voice in his head comfort him didn't freak him out. Then again, he's been having it since the first war ended, so it probably grew on him.

A crash from behind him, though he wasn't sure how things crashed underwater, brought him out of his thoughts, though they were beginning to stray anyway. The doors swung open, and Percy was sent flying forwards. Thankfully, he was underwater, so he just floated there after righting himself. Amphitrite didn't even acknowledge his presence, storming down through the hallway that lead to the room. Triton at least gave him a nod of respect, but didn't seem in the mood for a meet and greet either, as he kept going, exuding just as much displeasure as his mother.

Peaking into the throne room, he say Poseidon on his throne, rubbing his temples with his hands. He heard a mumble of, "Why didn't I take Thanatos' example and become a virgin god?" before Poseidon looked up and saw him. Gesturing for him to come in, Poseidon put his trident across his lap, a small smile on his face. "Ah, Percy! Good to see you. Now, I'd love to just talk with you, but there are important things we must discuss." His smile dropped as he gained a more serious aura.

Percy stood straighter and looked his father in the eye. "We have a problem Percy. Every time Gaea awakens, Zeus punishes someone for it. It's only happened a couple times, but still. Last time, it was Apollo, the time before that, it was Hera, the time before that, it was himself, as he'd brought her rage with the defeat of Kronos. Well, now, someone ELSE has to be punished. HAS TO be punished. It's part of the cycle we must uphold. If we don't choose, the fates will. And, well..." Poseidon was not liking the look of understanding coming over his son's face; it was just making this harder to say.

Deciding to go in like taking off a bandage, all in one go. Taking a deep breath of... water, he just said it all, going rather fast so Percy couldn't stop him. "You're the most likely to get some, if not all of the blame. I know it wasn't your fault, we all do, but we don't have much choice here. You'll also be offered your gift for service, so, when they offer immortality... again, accept it, or you'll likely be cast into Tartarus, and you won't make it this time. You'll be bound there for a century of torment, if not more, and you won't be able to leave for ever, even if you get out. That is, if you don't die." As he finished speaking, the room was silent, but that alone spoke volumes.

Percy was stuck in place, wide-eyed in his shock. _'They're gonna make me go back...'_ He wouldn't accept immortality, not until he had nothing left in the world, and he still had a lot. His other voice chimed in, giving his two cents. _'Well, going back wouldn't be so bad. I could give you help.'_ Percy, in his not very pleased state, snapped at the voice in his head, not even considering how crazy that made him. _'And WHAT can you do!? Huh!? Absolutely nothing!'_ The voice seemed amused at his anger. _'If you end up down there, you'll see exactly how I can help. You just gotta let me.'_ Percy was about to respond when he remembered his dad was in front of him, waiting for a response.

Composing himself, he just asked, "Can I stay here until it's time? I- I need some time to think..." His father nodded, but commented, "You only have until tomorrow. I'm sorry, but if it isn't you, it'l likely be Annabeth. Zeus won't let Jason take the blame, Leo isn't reachable at the moment, Piper is with Jason, and Hazel and Frank weren't as big in this as you, Jason, and Annabeth. Think carefully, Percy, and, again, I'm sorry." With that, he disappeared to give his son some time alone.

Percy, having made up his mind the moment he learned it was him or Annabeth, called out to the voice in his head, ready to make plans for Tartarus. _'Who are you? WHAT are you?'_ Even though the voice didn't have any face, he could feel a smile. _'I'm a part of you that you've earned but never claimed. And I'm a lot bigger than you think. I've actually been here since you went on your first quest, growing with each victory. You haven't claimed so much that you've earned the right to, but don't worry, my offer never expires. Just make sure you're in the pit before we do anything. Zeus wouldn't trust a thing about you if you did it up here...'_

Percy was back to being wide-eyed at the magnitude of the revelation. _'Okay, so you're saying that I'm NOT totally screwed, right?'_ His answer made him almost jump for joy. _'Exactly.'_

* * *

 **Next Day-** In front of Olympian Council with Roman and Greek Campers

* * *

"SILENCE!" The shout for calm came from Zeus, quieting down the chatting children and gods present. "We are here today to recognize the efforts and success of our comrades who traveled to Greece. Unfortunately, we are not in the presence of one of our... saviors, but we shall honor those that we can, and remember the actions of those we can't show our thanks to." Despite his recent attitude adjustments, he still found it rather hard to call them his saviors, but everyone understood the level of pride he had.

Piper, Jason, Nico, Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, and Percy were lined up in front of the assembly. The "coach" was already satisfied, so he didn't want anything, and Leo was the one of the seven that wasn't present, though, with Nico, they demigods still totaled seven. Piper was called up first, her mother looking ever so proud. "Piper, my daughter, you have shown great bravery in these times, and kept your honor as one of my children. You've shown the power your love can draw, and for this, we offer you one of the greatest gifts we can. Piper McLean, will you shed your mortality and join the ranks of the immortals." Despite how formal she was being, everyone could see how badly she wanted the squeeze her daughter in a bear hug.

Piper was about to shake her head before she remembered that she wasn't alone. The pause for thought made all the gods think, _'Percy's made everyone change so much.'_ Most demigods of the past wouldn't think twice about immortality, even if they had families and friends who wouldn't be able to follow them. Ever since Percy first refused immortality, the news spread like wildfire and made people think of what they'd do, who they'd hurt, if they ever got the offer. Thankfully for Piper, as she looked back at Jason when she couldn't decide on her own, she got a thumbs up. You could see the urge to jump for joy in her eyes, but she hid it really well.

Her mother beckoned her forward, a silver platter with a glowing serving of nectar and ambrosia sitting on it appearing in her other hand. Shrinking to a human for, the platter shrinking with her, she held it out to her daughter, saying to her, "Eat from the hands on high and shed your mortality. Join us in our eternal reign over the Earth." Once she ate of the food, she began to glow in the telltale signs of an immortal revealing their true forms, causing all the other demigods to shield their eyes, though Percy and Jason both managed to catch a glimpse without any actual damage.

When the glow faded, Piper stood there, wearing an ornately trimmed, creamy white chiton. (A/N: Google things you are unaware of or ask about it. Your choice people.) It looked as though actual gold was going along its edges, and the cloth looked as though it put the finest of silk to shame. The natural beauty she exuded before, naturally seeming beautiful despite efforts to look otherwise, looked and FELT like it was multiplied tenfold. At least half the guys in the room were about to grovel at her feet, though most of them had a girlfriend who was currently giving them the stink eye. Those that weren't were just drooling a bit. Hell, even some of the girls were ogling her.

Percy looked over to Jason to find him openly staring at her. _'I guess he gets to do that, though. Hope everyone else snaps out of it before he does...My hair looks really bad after a few bolts of lightning.'_ When Annabeth saw that he wasn't even resisting the urge to ogle her, as he wasn't affected by the aura she produced, couldn't help but smile. Giving her a sad smile in return, confusing her, he gave his attention back to the ceremonies which were resuming.

Piper, now that the ceremony was done, was tackled by her mother in a bear hug, everyone hearing, "I'm so proud of you!" through Aphrodite's super squeal of joy. After they were done, Piper took her place besides her mother's throne, waiting for the awards ceremony to continue. Next up was Jason, his father puffing out his chest as he made the obvious offer. His son accepted, wanting to go with Piper. He gave his friends a look that said, "Hope you guys get the same offer, 'cause I'm gone." As he ascended, he appeared in a sky blue toga, trimmed in gold as well. After experiencing a shockingly tender moment from Zeus in which he got a godly hug and an "I'm so proud of you, son. More than you'll ever know.", he took his place by his father.

Nico went next, receiving a position serving his father in the underworld. His robe was black, but shared the same outline. Then went Hazel, both gaining minor godhood and a pardon from death... again. Frank followed, losing his weakness(The stupid stick.) and gaining minor godhood.

Next up was Annabeth, who was called up by her mother. "Annabeth Chase. You have shown yourself to be more than worthy to be called a child of Athena and have shown enough worth to stand amongst the immortals. Do you accept? You will be put to work on the new project we have planned for everyone, a joined camp for all demigods, with complete control." The look her mother gave her, despite being proud, told her to accept, which she didn't even notice as she said, "Yes, mother." with as much control as she could when trying not to scream.

Everyone's eyes widened, though it made sense to them after they thought about it. This was her dream: to build such a monument that every demigod would see for the rest of eternity, or at least the rest of the god's reign. Percy, on the other hand, was frozen in shock. Everyone turned to him after a few moments of silence, so he put on a smile and forced back his tears. He didn't think to use his control over water to stop them, so his lack of emotional control allowed a few to slip by. Everyone turned away from him the moment they realized he was hurting, giving him some privacy. Still, he kept on his smile, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes as the dam began to burst. _'Oh, man up! If she would leave you this easily, she ins't worth all this grief.'_ He didn't even respond to the resident voice in his head.

Annabeth seemed to realize what she did a bit too late, as she'd already gone through the process of becoming an immortal. She looked over to Percy, seeing the horribly faked smile on his face, and tears going down his face. She knew she couldn't take back immortality, so she looked down, shame faced. Her mother's comforting hand did nothing to abate her guilt.

Percy felt a mental slap from his voice, waking him from his trance. _'Get your act together, man! You'll get over her eventually. Sweet protogenoi, you're sentimental.'_ His face became blank after that, not wanting to dwell on his thoughts or his shattered dreams for the future. _'I get it, fates. I can't just have nice things, huh? Well, fuck you.'_ Even if it was mental, for Percy to curse meant that he was done messing around. Percy was then offered immortality, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon all looking on with an untold amount of hope, though the other Olympians didn't seem to understand the magnitude of his decision. _'They don't know? Well, that or they can't be bothered to give a shit.'_ Percy, as expected, declined. He asked for a boon, this one being a throne for both Hestia and Hades.

"Well," began Artemis, cutting through the silence that settled after they were finished receiving their thrones, Hades' being made of obsidian with skull inlays and bejeweled carvings and Hestia's looking like a rather plain living room chair but gave of the most comforting feeling possible. The other gods looked at her curiously, wondering why she, of all of them, spoke up. "That's a nice request and all, but we still haven't rewarded you." Despite questioning why she, of all of them, brought it up, the other Olympians agreed. Hades spoke up. "You have done far too much for all of us for it to sit right with any of us to let you go without reward. You deserve SOMETHING." Another of the least likely gods to speak in his favor speaking up solidified the Olympians in their decision to reward him in some way, though Hades mainly felt bad for what was to come.

Percy sighed, not in the mood for this. "Fine. Can I get... a new sword to work in tandem with Riptide... and maybe a bow and the ability to actually USE it. I know the last one is a bit of a tall order, but I guess it fits the magnitude." Managing to crack a joke in the face of the Olympian council gave everyone hope that Percy was actually fine and not just acting. Still, his vocabulary was more advanced than usual, giving that feeling of something being... off. Shrugging it off, Zeus, and most of the council along with him, looked at both Artemis and Apollo.

After a few seconds of neither of them doing anything, Artemis snapped. "Oh fine!" Hopping down, Artemis shrunk down to her human size and held out her hand. A silver glow appeared and began to take shape, forming into an ornate black bow. "This bow is made of specially treated wood covered in specially treated, flexible Stygian iron. I had Hephaestus make this for me a while ago, but I got a better one now."

As she held out the bow, she continued to explain about the bow, causing many people to widen their eyes at the magnitude of the gift. "Arrows will appear whenever you draw the string and will it to. The arrows themselves can be just about any type, but if you can't visualize it, it likely won't work." When she said this, she was handing him the bow, the intricate silver carvings along the bow glowing sea green as it changed hands, before the bow itself turned to a black bracelet with a silver bow plate in its center. "It turns into a bracelet, as you can see. It responds to your will now, so just think about it; it's yours now. Now, THIS should help with your archery problem." As this was said, she snapped her fingers and he was covered in a silver glow, similar to a hunter when they are inducted into the hunt. She looked over at Apollo who was looking at her dumbstruck. "Get down here and give him yours, too. I'm not confident that mine alone will be enough to fix what he calls his archery skills." Apollo came out of his surprised state and smirked. "So you DO need me? Wait, I already knew that."

Artemis just rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her annoyance. Apollo gave him an archery blessing as well, but gave him a warning. "You still need to practice, Percy. These just mean it'll be easier for you to learn. You have to fix the negative progress you managed to make, so, uh... good luck with that." Artemis agreed with him with a grimace, showing their unity on the opinion.

When they returned to their thrones, Zeus began to speak, his booming voice silencing all chatter from their audience. "Each of you has received the gift of your choice-" He was cut off by Percy here. "So I'm not getting the sword? Oh, come on!" Zeus glanced at Hephaestus, who asked Percy for riptide for a moment. As it was tossed to him, everyone heard him murmur under his breath for a while, before tossing it back to Percy with another following it, one of them silver with the other gold. "It's pretty much the same, but it can actually be used as a pen now, because that was annoying me. I'll let you discover the other changes on your own." His gruff voice was approving of his on changes, but his words confirmed something for Percy. _'They really don't know? Maybe only the big three know right now...'_ His inner voice just gave the equivalent of a shrug. _'It' doesn't matter who knows. You're going down there. Hope we don't meet the actual Tartarus again too soon. That guy was scary as all Hades.'_ Despite his upcoming situation, he couldn't help but agree.

Zeus, after waiting a few moments so any other interruptions could make themselves known before he began again, resumed his speech, which Percy tuned out in favor of contemplating the worth of both his previous relationship and what he was gonna do to survive what was coming.

* * *

 **30 Minutes Later**

* * *

Percy was falling towards the bottom of Tartarus, trying to map out what he saw as he flew by. "I'll get out of here, eventually," he muttered to himself, trying to guide himself down to the river Lethe in the distance. "And when I do, I'll have the Olympians on my ass."

When he reached the bottom, he managed to land in the river Lethe, stopping the stuff from touching him so he could just use it as a cushion. Climbing out, he saw a band of cyclopes sitting around a small fire on the perverse beach in what was sure to be his personal hell. They seemed to be playing a card game of sorts. One of them seemingly won, because he began cheering and gathering his winnings, those being some drachmas, clothes, and other things that he couldn't identify.

They apparently saw him and recognized him, because their eyes showed complete and utter shock. They then began to laugh. Hard. Percy came up to them and, leaning against his sword which he took out as a precaution, asked, "What's so funny?" One of them managed to gain enough control to answer him. "Y-your down here w-with u-us. A-and you can't leave a-anymore than w-we can. The great P-Percy Jackson was t-tossed down with t-the m-monster he faces! Oh, this is too good." Percy managed to catch another say, "Lord Tartarus said he'd come, but, sweet protogenoi, I thought he was crazy."

Percy rolled his eyes, obviously not finding it anywhere near as funny. Pulling his sword out of the ground, he called out to his voice. _'Now that we're down here, you have some answers with my name on them. Gimme.'_ Despite his attempt at humor, just to cheer himself up, he was dead serious.

He'd been walking along the beach of the river Lethe the whole time, so he'd covered a rather large distance. There were rather large rocks around the river now, blocking the view for a while, providing perfect cover. The voice just said, _'Go sit by the beach, but make sure you're hidden. I don't think anything is around, but stay near a water source for now.'_

Once he sat down, the voice began again. _'Lemme start at the top. Every demigod has one of me, as I'm that little feeling that tells you not to go into a room, even if you don't know why. I guess you could say that I'm your instinct. Well, I WAS just your instincts. Ya see, after beating Ares, you opened the path to becoming more than just a demigod through your own strength instead of through the gods blessing._

 _'If a demigod defeats a god, they may claim their domain. Once you beat a god, the next level is a titan, then a primordial deity. It's, from the knowledge granted to me, only ever happened once. The guy didn't know about it, so he couldn't claim it. The fates fixed that by creating my equivalent in every demigod, just so they wouldn't need to intervene directly to let them know about their options. I'm your... guide, I guess, along with your power. You already used a bit of my, well, your power when you went up to face Gaea. Didn't you feel the calm come over you? That was the domain of war, making you feel right at home in the midst of battle, letting you relax yet fight to your fullest. That's just a taste of what you have, though._

 _'You, Percy are the first to do this since the gods were in Greece. You had to best a god in both Roman and Greek forms, which you did, the first on your first quest when you fought Ares and then against Mars in Camp Jupiter. It's a bit confusing how it works, but the moment you beat Ares, you've been accumulating power with each victory, and the moment you beat Mars, it became usable. You got Ares, then you got Iapetus, Hyperion, and Kronos, then you beat Mars when he gave Frank his quest, then you ended up beating the giant, which means you have MORE water powers to claim, then you beat Hyperion and Kronos again when you came here after taking Annabeth's place, along with Perses that time, then fought back Tartarus with Iapetus', sorry, "Bob's" help, and, oddly enough, it counted. You have SO much to claim, though the powers themselves might not be THAT strong, as you're still demigod. I don't know all the details; I just have a general idea from the information granted by the fates._

 _'Unfortunately, it's not a discreet process, so I waited until you could do this without damaging anyone or alerting anything you were hiding from. As such, we're here, so it's the perfect place for you to finally get a fucking prize. It may hurt, though, because this is A LOT of power. Doubt it's worse than the than that time in the Styx, so you'll be fine. All you have to do is accept my, no, YOUR power.' P_ ercy, trying to process what he just learned, was sitting there, completely unresponsive, and one can't blame him with how major what he just learned was.

Slowly coming out of his mental reboot, he thought about it for a while. _'I DO need all the help I can get down here... but that feels like cheating. Not like I have a lot of options, though...'_ After a few moments of deliberation, he asked, _'How likely is it that I'll meet Tartarus down here?'_ His inner voice just responded, ' _You've already met him. You're in him right now, actually. You do realize that he IS the pit, right?'_

That was enough for Percy; Tartarus was the scariest... thing he'd ever fought. By far. If he had to get away from his grasp, though he could forget escaping his view or beating him, he'd need everything he could get. _'I'll take my prize in full, please. I don't wanna die when Tartarus decides he's watched me struggle in his grasp long enough.'_ The voice, once more, had to remind him of something. _'You'll have some control over the pit as well, man. Use your brain. Well, it'll be easier after this, I guess. Brace yourself.'_

Percy didn't even get to say "Wait" before the pain hit him like a freight train. After that, he didn't know about anything BUT pain for a long time.

* * *

 **Unknown Time Later**

* * *

Waking up, having passed out from the pain at some point or another, Percy groaned at the phantom pain he was feeling. Getting up, he mumbled, "I can't tell if my limbs are coated in hell-fire or not." Then, a stroke of genius hit him, and he looked at his arms to check. He found no hell fire, but he did see chains running along them, both tattooed ones along his arm and real ones on his wrist. "Well, fuck me." A voice that shook him to his core responded, making him want to curl up in a corner and die just from the memories it brought back. "I won't, but an empusa or one of the lamia might just find you irresistible. For your sake, I hope you consider the offer I'll be making you."

After the voice was done talking, Percy slowly brought his head up to face it's owner, finding exactly who he expected: Tartarus. "F-fuck..." was all he could get out in his presence again. The endless pit that seemed to be his face was as intimidating as the last time he saw it, and he was in no mood to experience whatever Tartarus had prepared for him.

Gathering hos courage, which he found oddly easy, considering how scared he was, he asked, "W-what offer? I'm all ears,... Lord Tartarus." He wouldn't bother normally, but he was no dumbass, despite everything he's done in his life so far. Tartarus seemed to smile, though it was rather hard to tell. "Well," he began, "I speak on behalf of most other primordial deities in this offer. We are aware that the gods cast you away just because they wish to keep tradition, so we have an offer for you. You see, we have absolutely no followers right now; not one person gives a rats ass about us. While this is generally okay, we've grown very weak, all of us. So, we need someone to represent us in the mortal world, someone to provide power so we may leave our own domains and explore the world again without slowly "dying". Many of us are depressed, lacking a will to live as we're confined to a domain we know all about with nothing to do until something interesting happens, which is never for some of us. Uranus doesn't even have the power to get a body again!"

Percy thought he knew where things were going, but he didn't trust it. "So, in plain terms, you want me to be your collective follower? Forgive me if I'm not jumping at the chance. But, I'll do it on one condition: I have to be able to leave Tartarus." If Tartarus could look offended, he would. "I know it isn't the happiest place here, but it isn't THAT bad, you know. Well, whatever; you can do that whenever, if you pick me."

Percy just looked confused, causing Tartarus to sigh. "Did you really think you'd get all that power?" Percy just blinked in confusion. "What power?" His purplish hand collided with the black hole that was his face with a resounding smack... somehow. "You thought you wouldn't be getting anything from us? Well, you'll get watered down versions of our abilities, so we can't let you have all of them." Percy just shook his head. "I'll represent all of you without the powers, then. You guys sound miserable."

The two lights on his face that represented his eyes seemed to widen. "You'd do that for us?" Percy nodded. "I was satisfied with my power over water, then I gained a shit ton other recently. I'm gonna assume you know about that, and if you didn't, then you know now. Still, no one deserves that. So, tell your friends that I'll do it for free."

A female voice that seemed to have no source said, "Such chivalry. Rare among you demigods, though I know you are more than that." Tartarus seemed to stiffen slightly before addressing the voice. "Khaos. Pleasant surprise, but why do you intervene." Percy made his opinion known at that point, getting rather fed up. "I'm getting real tired of hearing voices I can't see the source of. Been hearing one for years, don't need another." Tartarus was about to reprimand him for being so rude, but Khaos cut him off. "I am right in front of you. And behind you. And next to you. And-" she was cut off by Percy. "All around me. I get it. You are in the empty space, embodiment of the void." Despite saying that with such confidence, his only thought was, _'When did I learn the word embodiment?'_

Khaos laughed, on odd sound as it seemed to encompass him completely. "Yes, yes. I suppose that could get a bit annoying, but I haven't been able to speak to anyone new in many millennia, so I couldn't help it. Now, let me state my purpose. You are fit to hold such power, young one. I see no evil in you, no greed, no wish to do harm, and a strong sense of justice, and such quality is as rare as life in the void of space. One such as yourself, who wishes for no more, if not less, power, is fit to possess it." Tartarus just asked, trying to hold back his shock, "You wish to allow this demigod to have such power!?" He couldn't believe anyone was trustworthy enough to be allowed to gain such power, but if Khaos believed so, then it must have some merit.

Percy felt Khaos nod, another odd feeling as he could tell it was happening yet he had nothing physical to tie the action to. "I don't care if you wish to abstain from this process, because he already has your power, but my blessing is up for grabs to anyone who I can trust to save me from my torment. This is the first time I've risked expending enough energy to contact someone in so long that I don't remember the last time I had a conversation. My solitude is far more total that everyone else's, Tartarus. You have the monsters, Pontus has Thalassa and all the ocean's inhabitants, Cronus has Ananke along with what he is able to discern from the flow of time, Gaea has most of the animals, Eros has the birds, Aether has Hemera, Nyx has Erebus, and so on. I have absolutely nothing, so if I can give more to get more, I will do so. And if he has our powers and actively uses them, we'll return far faster. My mind has been made up already, and the others already wish to return. Either do it, or move and let me. I have enough energy." Her desperation to escape her prison within the void, her own domain, made itself apparent during her rant, and only served to make Percy all the more sure of his choice.

Percy made his opinion known at that moment. "Well, the faster you do it, the faster you come back. I haven't eaten since I passed out the first time, so I'm kinda hungry; speeding this up would be very much appreciated." Khaos nodded, making Percy feel weird again, and Tartarus just sighed before nodding as well. He snapped his fingers and the shackles on Percy's limbs fell. A surge of power traveled through Percy, and he felt what he expected to when he got the other powers.

An burning anger inside of him that wasn't there before, though it was easily doused by the new water powers he felt.(A/N: See what I did there.) He knew the exact time in Tartarus to the millisecond, and was aware of the differing passage of time from the world above. His need to eat was obliterated by the surge of power, satisfying his body's need for refueling, at least for the time being. He opened his hand on pure instinct and a harsh, bright light began to shine. Closing his hand, he looked to Tartarus and said, "Never mind about the food part; I'm good. Let's just do this so I can get to practicing with my new toys." How giddy he was when he said it showed that he very likely viewed them that way, but neither Khaos not Tartarus could really tell.

A burning pain passed through Percy, causing him to fall to the ground, holding his right arm as if it was being bathed in drakon venom. Slowly, an anchor became visible on his palm, pointing towards his elbow. As he sat there, panting, Khaos began to talk. "Sorry, I haven't had a champion before, so I didn't think it'd hurt that much." Despite saying sorry, she sounded giddy, already feeling a small flow of energy coming from him.

He recovered enough to stand a few moments later, though he did give Tartarus a glare for giving what he assumed was a smirk. Sighing, he asked, "When do you think you'll have enough power?" Khaos, sounding very happy, answered. "If you don't even use our power, I'll be done in a year or two, but two years down here is half a year on the surface, so, since I'm just about everywhere, it's going rather quickly. How about you stay down here for a few years, training those powers, of course, and I'll be able to help you by the second year. The others have more energy than I do, and they want it to stay that way, so they'll probably stop by down here to show you how to use their abilities better, if only so you can power them better, before I do."

Tartarus could only groan. "Why am I the meet and greet area, huh!?" Khaos, if she had a body would be giving him a deadpan stare. As it was, they could feel it. "How do you propose we meet and train without the gods getting their panties in a giant knot?" Tartarus scoffed. "Why should I care what they think? They are weak compared to us right now, and we're about to go back to full power." Khaos responded in the type of voice one would use when explaining something to a toddler. "Because, Tartarus, they are still the rulers of the planet. Our time has passed; the world doesn't need rulers of our magnitude anymore. If the gods fight, the country, if not the world, goes to war. If we fight, existence will be fighting itself." Tartarus sighed, knowing she was right.

Percy just intervened before Tartarus could argue further. "Um, not to be a bother, but could you please tell me what happened to Iapetus? I can't seem to locate him." Despite gaining a full on domain from Tartarus, he couldn't sense Iapetus, which was worrying him. Tartarus just snapped his fingers and Iapetus appeared on the floor, in a pile. Percy was about to go to help his friend, but decided to ask Khaos something first. "Lady Khaos? Am I immortal?" Her yes made him sigh in grim acceptance. "Well, I guess I don't get to choose whether or not I deal with the world for eternity." He then went on to tend to Iapetus.

As he was trying to figure out what Iapetus did to heal him before, his voice made a comeback. _'You got over Annabeth rather quickly, didn't you?'_ He didn't even jump, expecting the voice to stay anyway. _'Well, she so willingly believed that I was guilty, despite being with almost the whole time. The ONLY time she wasn't there was in Tartarus, and I came out looking like shit. If she, no, if any of them ACTUALLY believed that I could betray them, then they aren't worth feeling bad over.'_ Despite what he told the voice, a deep ache in his heart was ever present.

* * *

 **200 Years In Tartarus Later- 50 Years on Earth**

* * *

Kronos, Iapetus, Koios, Hyperion, and Krios were all facing off against a shirtless, black haired, black clad figure, and losing, if only barely. None of them were seemingly using powers, as Kronos was moving at a normal speed and Hyperion wasn't glowing as he normally would. Two swords, one gold and the other silver, flashed as the figure slashed and hacked at the defending titans. "C'mon Kronos!" the figure called, going for a swing at Kronos' legs and connecting slightly, leaving a long thin line down his leg. None of them were wearing armor for the fight, so any connection would make contact and do damage.

Scampering away and swinging his scythe to push the figure back, Kronos glanced at his leg, shifting his weight on and off of it to check how damaged it was. He was pulled out of his maintenance check up as he had to block two swords that would've decapitated him. He kicked his enemy back, sending flying towards Krios who was ready with a spear, poised to impale him, yet the figure was able to maneuver their way out of the spears path and land a foot squarely in his gut, sending him down for the count.

Koios came up behind him, bringing a sword down on his neck, but the figure crossed both swords above his head and blocked. Not giving Koios the chance to overpower him or kick him in the back, he dashed to the side, putting Koios off balance. He was about to kick him behind the leg when he felt Kronos' scythe come flying at him. Jumping out of the way, he allowed the scythe to hit Koios, though it was the butt of the scythe and only knocked him out. He felt Kronos bury his fist in his stomach as he turned to the source of the scythe throw.

The titan's punch was enough to send him flying back, hitting a pure black wall and sending cracks through it. In the process, his swords were dropped behind Kronos, so, as the titan ran at him, his scythe flying back to his hand, he held out his own hand, calling his swords to him from the ground behind Kronos, but he had to roll out of the way as Iapetus' spear impacted the ground he was in. The titan, with speed befitting one of his status, rushed him, pulling his spear from the ground in front of him and punching the figure in the face, sending him to the ground.

The figures swords were still on the ground, as his call was interrupted, so he called them again, making them come as fast as possible and cut Kronos in his Achilles tendon. The sudden injury sent him to the ground, allowing his sole focus to be on Iapetus, which was a good thing as said titan's foot came down from where just rolled from, swords in hand. Getting to his feet, he dashed at Iapetus, matching the titan's speed and surprising him by completely bypassing his spear and speeding past him. When the titan turned around, he was met with the cold touch of gold and silver crossed over his neck. "Checkmate. Percy-14, Titans-4. Wanna make it best out of 31?"

Kronos got up, eating a square of ambrosia to speed up his immortal healing factor, and said, "I've received enough of a beating today. I'd rather watch you get your ass handed to you by Khaos, Tartarus, Uranus, and Gaea at the same damn time. See how well you do against them, you cocky little-" He was cut off by Krios, who managed to regain consciousness, Koios right behind him. "Stop your ranting, brother, and hand me some of that. His feet are like blocks of steel, and I took it to the stomach. You know what, I don't think I can stomach that right now."

Percy laughed, brushing off his discomfort. "You're a titan. Act like one." He tossed him an ambrosia square that he conjured up from nothing. Walking up to one of the black walls in the perpetually lit room, he tapped it and all the walls seemed to collapse in on themselves before disappearing into the shadows they once cast. Once the walls were gone, they were shown to be in an arena of sorts, monsters and other immortals in the stands. Percy just bowed to them in an overly theatrical manner, making the titans he just fought roll their eyes in exasperation.

Walking out of the arena, he conversed with his previous opponents. "You guys need to practice more WITHOUT your powers. You outclass me in age and experience, yet I can kick your ass. Alone." Kronos hit him upside the head with the butt of his scythe before giving his response. "You trained with Lady Khaos, Tartarus, and about a million other fighters. I trained myself, with a LITTLE help from Cronus. Shut up." Percy couldn't really fault him on the logic, so he just stuck his tongue out. He then proceeded to put on headphones that seemed to come from nothing, attaching it to a phone in his pocket and hitting the play button.

They made their way to where Tartarus, who was sitting in a balcony overlooking the arena itself. He laughed as he saw Percy walk in with his tongue still out. Krios just growled at both him and Percy before sighing. Tartarus chuckled a moment more before addressing them. "You just broke the bank with bets again, Percy. Loving this income." Percy just stared at him before sighing. "At least I own some of this place." Tartarus scoffed at him. "Yeah, like 20 percent. You didn't even deserve the power from that bullshit victory." Percy gave him the same taunt he gave Kronos, but they both stiffened for a moment.

The titan's looked impatient as they waited for the two to return to a more normal state and inform then of what happened. As Percy came relaxed, he said, "The gods want their hero back." He said that as he disappeared in a flash of light, leaving them to look to Tartarus. He just sighed. "Well, be prepared to make an entrance; we MAY be needed. I trust Percy to handle it, but..."

* * *

 **Olympian Throne Room**

* * *

Percy appeared in a flash of light in front of the Olympians, though they weren't too sure if it was him. The differing eye colors didn't make their job any easier. They were constantly changing, cycling through the whole rainbow plus the entire grayscale, though they lingered on green much longer than any other color. His hair falling in front of them managed to cast a shadow on his face, causing a glowing effect, though it looked more beautiful than scary. His body, compared to his frame before, was jacked. Not overly so, but you you couldn't see a strip of fat on him; he looked so hard it was like he was chiseled from marble. His abdominal region looked as though he'd spent the last 200 years doing sit-ups, though they thought it was only 50. Every muscle on his body looked defined to the point of perfection, not one of them becoming too big to be appealing. Oddly, despite how defined his muscles were, he looked rather lithe, like he was remodeled for speed in the past half century.

He folded his arms in front of his chest, snapping the Olympians from their shock. "What do you want? You interrupted something... more important." Zeus got quite a bit angered at that remark; 50 years away from his source of humility weren't good for him. "Insolent child. Your... escapades are of no importance when you are called before the almighty." Even though that was his response, the other gods thought it was something else. Poseidon had a look of pride on his face, thinking his son had... moved past Annabeth. Apollo and Hermes looked at each other before nodding and giving Percy a thumbs up, and both Hera and Ares had a similar looks of approval, Hera more so on the thought that he settled down. Aphrodite looked jealous, Hephaestus seemed neutral on the matter, as did Demeter, Dionysus was half asleep, Artemis had an odd look of embarrassment and annoyance on her face, Hestia and Athena just looked plain embarrassed, though Athena's was far less noticeable, and Hades looked uncaring of that, though he was visibly annoyed with his brother's outburst.

Hades, being the most level headed one of the big three, coughed into his hand, breaking his brother from his oncoming attempt to kill Percy for his "insolence". "What my brother meant to say," began Hades, "is that we're sorry for interrupting your... activities, but we have a proposition for you." Zeus, slightly blushing at his words, got up and pointed his master bolt at Hades, making him roll his eyes before twitching his fingers and causing shadows to grab Zeus, pull and lock him into his seat with shadow shackles, and cover his mouth.

Hades sighed in relief. "Now that the child is on time out..." at this, Zeus began to struggle harder in his binds, managing to break free a moment later. "Why you little-" He was cut off by a powerful voice telling him two things. "Sit down. Shut up." His body didn't even get a chance to process his own choice as it followed the command in its totality. All of the gods, who were beginning to enjoy the little show, turned to the source of the voice to find Percy glowing silver. "I did not come here to see a clown do what he does best, I came because I was called by the current rulers of my planet. Now, hurry the FUCK UP! I was in the middle of a conversation with... a business associate when you called, so don't start with your bullshit."

Zeus began shaking, but he powered through his fear, surprisingly, and spoke, admirably without a stutter. "We offer you your place within our ranks once more. We've informed the other gods of the truth of the situation, including your friends, and wish for you to return. We even have a position that you could fill: sword fighting instructor." The way he said this was completely serious, which made him all the more confused when Percy began laughing. After a bit of laughter, though it got a bit dark towards the end, Percy explained to the confused deities what he found so funny. "Why would I go back there!? They were so quick to turn their backs on me, it was like I hadn't just fought in ANOTHER war for them! Besides, I have people who I can trust won't betray me, even if only for the fact that they can't."

When he said this, Athena, being the ever smart one, asked the most obvious question. "And who would these people be? There aren't many friendly faces in Tartarus." A voice coming from Percy's shadow answered them for him. "I'd be his main benefactor, as he shares certain... abilities with me. Why we can't betray him is confidential, but don't worry; we have no interest in taking the right to rule for ourselves, because we could've done so a while ago. All of us primordials are free, by the way, so watch out for that." By the time the first sentence was finished, Tartarus finished forming from the shadow he was coming out of. All the Olympians recognized him, if not by his face or voice, then by the feeling they got by just being around him. Tartarus, on the other hand, was just thankful he didn't need to bring in any of the titans, as that wouldn't make the best impression.

Zeus cleared his throat before he said something, finding it somewhat hard to talk in Tartarus' presence. "Well, that is quite alright, then. We have another position for you to fill, this one actually important and probably only temporary." The fact that he was willing to tell Percy that it was important, at least to him, was enough for Percy to raise an eyebrow and allow him to speak. As he got a go on from Percy, he continued. "Artemis' hunt was sent to investigate a recent surge in monsters and, unfortunately, were discovered and overwhelmed by a horde. As of right now, there are only 12 hunters alive, including Artemis, out of the near 100 they had before. Don't worry, Thalia is alive, but it's rather dangerous for them right now, yet we still need them to perform their duties. If you could guard them, if only until their numbers recover to at least 30, we would be forever grateful."

Percy gave Tartarus a hard look for a moment, making the primordial sweat a little, if a primordial could sweat, that is. Sighing, Percy asked, "Why me? I'd rather just go back to Tartarus, if I'm honest with you. The residents are fun, if only to a degree, the fights are plentiful, and I own the place... partially. I make money by just doing what I do best, fighting, and I can come up here or stay down there and spend it however I wish. I can visit my friends regardless of what you say, so I have no real reason to even listen to you, let alone work for you."

Artemis' face fell at this, but Zeus sighed, not quite ready to give up the argument. "Well, it's either you or Heracles, and as much as I trust he can protect them, I doubt he can preserve himself if he's in their presence. Not much choice past you two." Percy could only sigh mentally and ask himself, _'Why can't I turn off my morals?'_ His guide replied, _'Because you'd go power mad otherwise. I'd totally say fuck them, but you'll feel like shit if you leave that asshole with them. He'll either rape one of them then get a slap on the wrist or get mutilated by them, probably causing the hunters to get disbanded.'_ Percy couldn't think of any flaw in the logic, only worse things Heracles could do, so he sighed before accepting. "Fine, but I won't do this for free. We can discuss my terms later, but first, I have priorities, such as visiting my mom for the first time in 200 years without the chance of being discovered." The Olympians looked confused, but he explained before any of them could ask the obvious question. "I stayed in a place where time passed at one fourth the speed of up here so I could train."

He began walking to the exit in the throne room, telling Tartarus to follow him so he could get introduced to his mother, but then stopped and turned around. "What did you tell my mom about me being in Tartarus?" Poseidon answered, "Everything. She knows the truth, Percy, so don't worry about that." Percy went slack-jawed at the news. "She knew and you still did it!?" Poseidon squirmed in his seat for a moment. "Well, I told her after it had been done, and she kicked my ass for it." Percy nodded, liking the image in his head. _'Heh, imagine the news on Olympus,'_ his guide said. _'"Mortal woman kills Lord of the Sea". Ha!'_ Percy couldn't help but smirk in agreement. He then remembered something important.

Looking to Artemis, he pointed at her and said, "I owe you for the bow." With that, he snapped his fingers and his shadow grew in front of him before coming up and forming a portal. He cupped his hands and called, "Zoe! Get over here! You can go back to your mistress now." With that, a silver blur came out f the portal, stopping a foot or two away from it. Zoe turned to Percy and said, "Thou had best not jest on such a matter, Perseus. If thou art-" She was cut off by Percy pointing behind her to the Olympian council. The moment she turned, she was slammed into by another silver blur, this one being Artemis.

As they embraced, Percy said, "We're even, now." before resuming his exit of the throne room, leaving a confused Olympian council in his wake.

* * *

 **Two Days Later**

* * *

Percy appeared in the throne room in a swirl of water, knowing they'd be assembled to discuss the terms of his service. They greeted him, and Percy decided to give a polite tip of the head in response, making Zeus a bit pissed he wouldn't bow in the face of his "superiors", though he had little choice but to let it slide. Zeus began the talk with the dumbest thing he could've asked. "What do you want for your services, Perseus? If it is within my power, I shall grant it." Percy face palmed. "You really shouldn't give me the option of whatever I want. If anything, you should start at a base point of what you wish to pay me then work from there, but since you're incompetent in this, I'll go easy on you. I want 200 drachmas monthly, a $1700 minimum wired to an account I have already set up weekly, and complete secrecy from the demigods and minor gods until I say otherwise. That's only about $200 above the average weekly pay of today in America, so it shouldn't be much to you guys.(A/N: I did a rough estimate of the average pay in America 50 years after this month(May), in 2015.) If my responsibilities jump enough to require a pay raise, well, we'll burn that bridge when we get there, won't we." The gods were shocked at how easily they were manhandled, but could find no point to dispute him on. Not even Athena could find a GOOD reason to pay him any less, and Zeus didn't wanna look like too much of an ass at the moment.

Coughing into his hand, Zeus asked, "All in favor?" All the hands went up, except Hades, who said, "One question, brother. Who, exactly, is going to be PAYING him?" He got deadpan looks from the other Olympians, even Hestia. "I thought as much." With a sigh of resignation, he slipped his hand into the air. Percy smiled. "Good, then we have a deal. I can begin at any time, though you" he said this whilst pointing at Artemis, "had better warn them of my arrival. I don't enjoy deflecting arrows." Artemis thought of it for a moment before responding. "Fine. But YOU better put on a shirt. Appearing in front of my hunters like that is-" She was cut off by Aphrodite, "Is COMPLETELY fine. Please don't put on a shirt." The look of pleading she gave Percy made everyone think it was actually going to hurt her to see him put on a shirt.

Percy sighed. "I don't wanna put on a shirt anymore than you want me to, Aphrodite, but I'm doing a job, and if my boss says I can't go to work like this, well, I can't. I'm well aware of how I look, and I doubt I'd leave without killing them all... in self-defense." Artemis looked horrified at the thought of him killing all her hunters and Aphrodite looked horrified of the prospect of him wearing a shirt, but neither could really go against what he just said without seeming childish.

He thought for a moment, before finally thinking of something. His sleeves seemed to flow up his arms, going to his chest and covering it in a liquid layer of black before it reformed into a solid again. It covered the bottom part of his face as well, hiding his identity, as his hair already covered much of his upper face. It revealed the chain tattoos along his arm, making the Olympians raise a few eyebrows. Ares whistled in appreciation, though. "Nice tats, boy. Maybe I was wrong about you; already a fucking badass." Aphrodite was practically drooling too, as the shirt was form fitting enough to just be his skin with a recolor.

Ignoring the looks he was getting, he asked Artemis, "Better? I don't actually have a shirt anymore; this is as close as I can come. Best I can do past this is to TRY and make it a little less form fitting, but I don't enjoy shirts and don't plan on getting one." Artemis sighed, ignoring the hints he dropped that the shirt was alive, and responded. "Do what you can. I can't promise they won't attack if you show up like that though. Oh, and be prepared to work. We have to focus more on training the newer recruits, so you may be taking on some other jobs." He shrugged. "Whatever. You're already being nicer than I expected; maybe the hunters won't be as mean as last time."

She shook her head. "That's because I know you, Perseus-" Percy cut her off there. "I guy can hope, can't he? Now, why don't we just get this over with? I'd much rather get this over with. Oh, and for the record, you KNEW me. Things have changed, Artemis. Don't forget that. I'm still a nice person, but I'm nowhere near as tolerant as before. Make sure your hunters are made aware not to push me TOO far. They can do their little feminist thing as much as the please, though." Artemis' eyes twitched a bit, but she bit back a response, not wanting to anger her best chance at restoring her hunters' numbers. Zeus then decided that the rest of the Olympians were no longer needed, so he dismissed them and left Artemis and Percy to sort things out on their own.

Resigning herself to her choice, she told him, "Meet me at Deer River State Park in... 30 minutes." With that, she disappeared, leaving a slightly pissed Percy. Aphrodite appeared before Percy could go anywhere, though. "So, Percy, how's it been." She got uncomfortably close to him at that point, but he just began walking towards the exit, answering calmly. "Oh, fine. I got out of Tartarus, got offered a job, visited my mom, got thrashed by my mom, then came here and dealt with this. Sorry, but I have half an hour to cover around 300-350 miles." Aphrodite latched onto his arm, though, as he walked towards the edge of Olympus. "Oh, Artemis is being silly, and you know it. Besides, you know she doesn't expect you to actually do it. Even shadow travel isn't instant, you know." She tried to look as seductive as possible at this point, pulling his arm into her cleavage, practically smothering it. "Why don't you show her she can't order you around and just have some fun with me? I can make it worth your while, Percy." She even put some charm-speak in there to make sure to "persuade" him.

Now, Percy had part of Eros' blessing mixed in with his gift from the primordials for his service, so her charm-speak was ineffective. "Nah. Maybe another day, but I'm not too keen on being part of your cheating on Hephaestus. He's a nice guy, really." He could've played along and got a free "ride", but he wasn't feeling it. He really didn't want to betray Hephaestus like that either. "Well, I'd love to talk, but the longer I take to get going, the more sore I'll be later." As he said this he extracted himself from her hold, making her pout, though she didn't look like she gave up. Walking up to the edge, he hopped over the edge, enjoying the shocked look that overcame Aphrodite's face, and the awestruck one when he came flying back, silver wings on his back. "Later Aphrodite! You know where to find me when you need anything, even if you just wanna talk." Percy had encountered Aphrodite a couple times during his sentence when he went above ground, so talking with her wasn't too uncommon anyway.

Regardless, he pumped his wings, gaining speed at a frightening rate, yet he kept perfect track of it and stayed in control. _'28 minutes left. If I wanna reach by the 25 minute mark, like I intended, I need to go a little more than 600 miles per hour. Fuckin' hell... I'll be sore as all hell tomorrow, won't I?'_ Pumping his wings even faster, he accelerated up to the needed speed, coming close to Mach 1. Uranus popped up next to him, easily matching his flying speed. "Hey Percy. Heard you were working for Artemis for now. Good Luck with that." Percy nodded, keeping up what was, for him, a blistering flying speed. "Thanks. I feel like I'm gonna need it, especially if the hunters are anywhere near as bad as they used to be." Uranus laughed at him, enjoying the thought. "I'll be watching, Percy." One of the wings hit him in mid air, knocking him into the ground, though they were above a more rural area, so building were hit. "Stop being a stalker, Uranus."

With that, Percy increased his speed further, trying to break the sound barrier. He accomplished this rather easily, surprising himself. Looking at the sun, he saw that it was still rising. "I keep forgetting that I'm stronger at this time of day." Pushing himself to the limit, he neared mach 2, easily getting to the hunter's location in time. "Huh. Maybe I should've spent some time with Aphrodite?... Nah, she would've tried to rape me again." His voice told him, _'You do know that shouldn't be such a minor occurrence, right?'_ Percy just responded, _'Shut up, Purge.'_ before touching down in the middle of the hunters' camp site, all of them drawing their bows the moment he landed.

He raised his hands in a placating manner. "Didn't Artemis tell you I'd be coming!?" Artemis herself walked up to him, answering his question. "Well, you should've taken a while to cross about 300 miles, even by flight." She added the last part, noticing his wings. He shrugged, not really caring what she thought was possible. "Well, when flying, I can almost reach mach 2 at this point. Now, hows about you tell your hunters to lower their bows, huh? I don't enjoy pointy objects in the hands of murderous, hardcore-feminist girl-scouts." Bristling at the slight insult, one of the hunters let an arrow fly.

Percy caught it easily, not even looking in her direction. "I am your guardian, not your target for target practice. I thought you explained this to them, Artemis?" She shook her head, before turning to her hunters. "Lower your weapons and assemble over here," she ordered, watching as they did so reluctantly. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but it has been decided that we'd be getting a guardian." At they outburst of dissent, she gave them a hard look, quieting them down before she continued. "I know you girls aren't happy with that, nor are you happy that your guardian is a male; I'm not happy either, but our number are too low to risk doing the more dangerous jobs. If another horde of monster arises like that, you will die."

The hunters got rather quiet at that, knowing there was truth to their words. Even Zoe, who'd been training in Tartarus, was aware of the magnitude of the previous monster attack. "Now, guardian, would you like to introduce yourself to the hunt." Percy inclined his head, showing his assent. Stepping towards them, he began. "I am Purgatory, though you may just call me Purge for short." In his head, he heard the actual Purge/Purgatory shout, _'Hey! THAT'S MY NAME, YOU ASS!'_ Ignoring him, though a smirk came over his face that no one could see, he continued. "I will be your guardian, and apparently a bit more, for as long as needed. If you wish for anything from me, and aren't a total androphobe(A/N: A person who is afraid of men, for those who didn't know), you may ask. I will not interfere with the goings on of the hunt, and you will only see me when I can't help but be seen. Try not to "accidentally" kill me. It won't end well for you." With that said, he stepped back, letting Artemis address her girls again as they tried to burn holes into him. With their eyes.

Artemis sighed before actually addressing any of them. "Girls, please don't antagonize him too much. He may be male, but he has no intention of hurting any of you, or anyone, for that matter. He's here to do a job, nothing more, nothing less. Now, pack up camp! We've spent too much time in one area, and we have a mission over in Utah, so we need to move now to make good time." Turning to Percy, she said, "You'll be carrying our stuff there, since you can move so fast on those wings of yours."

He rolled his shoulder as he said, "No problem.", surprising her with his lack of resistance to the command. Each of the hunters went into a tent, two hunters going into the same one, except for Artemis, Thalia, and Zoe who seemed to get their own, before they came out and the tents became carry bags, folding in on themselves neatly. At least three girls were required to carry each bag over to him before they dropped them in front of him, except Artemis' tent, which she carried herself to his feet.

As he brushed off their display as theatrics, only put on to intimidate him, he tried to life one of the bags, only to find it decently heavy. Not too heavy to lift but heavy. "Damn." he said calmly, shocking all the girls except Zoe, as they were previously smirking with anticipation of his inability to life them. Putting it down, he lined up the bags, making sure he could grab each of the four on each side. Gathering them into his hands, he brought back out his wings, but as he began to fly, keeping himself in place, he asked Artemis, "Shouldn't you just travel at night, now that you have such a small group? You could easily fit them into it, because, IF my memory serves, you can change your chariot into something more spacious." Artemis thought for a moment then decided he was right. "Good point, Per- ahem, Purge. I'd grown accustomed to having too large a hunt to fit inside."

As she said that, Zoe and Thalia had a simultaneous face palm, not believing they missed that fact. Percy smirked, though none of them could tell, and lowered himself to the ground. Phoebe, one of the hunters, blamed him for the extra work they had to do. "Why didn't you say something earlier, boy!?" Some other hunters rallied behind her, grumpy about having to unpack again. He rolled his eyes, putting the bags down, before answering them. "I didn't know she HADN'T thought of it before. You should be mad at Artemis, not me. But fine, if it'll untie the knot your panties have become, I'll set 'em back up for you."

That seemed to placate the girls, as they went back to their camp sites to wait for Percy. He moved speedily along, reaching each girl and allowing them to point at their bag. After a minute, they were all set back up, and the girls were milling around once more, some training, some talking, some going for a walk. Artemis turned to him, asking, "I hope you know how to cook, "Purge", because they'll be judging you harshly in a few hours." He sighed but nodded, having no problems cooking, as he picked up the skill, but not really wanting criticism on it today. As she pointed to the food tent, he made his way there with slow steps, regretting the job slightly. _'Well, I was warned.'_

* * *

A/N: And that's a wrap, folks. Tell me what you think so far. Oh, and if you think he's a bit too chummy with the people that betrayed him, I have two things to tell you. 1. He is neutral with them as he got WAY too much out of it to be mad at all the gods, especially since they were lied to. 2. He's a nice person naturally. Oh, what the hell, I'll give you a third for free: It's my story. Give any suggestions in the reviews and tell me what you think! I'll be glad to get them, and, if they aren't too hard to implement into the the general flow of the story I have planned(kinda), I'll add them. R&R! Have a great day!... unless you'd rather not. I don't own you.


	2. Yea, I Can Cook Wanna Learn?

A/N: Hey! Thanks for the support, guys; It means a lot to hear that people are enjoying my story. Also, I was wondering how many people would get the reference of Purgatory's name. Only a few, surprisingly. Now, don't worry, I won't be stealing anything from anyone's story like that, but it was a cool name. If you think it's stealing to just name him that, fine. If enough of you believe that, I'll change it; I already have an alternate name prepared. Just paying a bit of homage to a story I thoroughly enjoy.(But I'm behind, so any spoilers will be ignored... please don't do it.) I'll probably put a link to it in the end of this chapter. Now, ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

It'd been a few hours since Percy was sent to be the cook. Every hunter was wondering where the smell was coming from, but none of them wished to check for themselves. By the time they assembled for breakfast, something they were originally planning to have on the go, they were wondering who made it, as none of them had gone hunting nor had Artemis magicked them a free meal, as rare an occurrence as it was.

A few moments after they assembled, Percy exited the tent with a few plates, none of which were in the tent originally. "Okay, so I got pancakes, waffles, french-toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a few strawberry crepes. Take what you want, but don't rush." A few plates just appeared on the small tables Percy had made, though they had no clue he did that, and Percy asked Artemis, "Would you be so inclined to help distribute this meal, Lady Artemis?" Despite the somewhat playful manner he said this, his eyes said it all; she had little choice in the matter.

Getting up with a small sigh, she was pleasantly surprised by the mixing aromas that assaulted her nose as she got close, enjoying the more concentrated smell compared to what wafted from the tent earlier.

The Hunters seemed rather reluctant to eat the food, as it was obvious he made it, and a few of them even commented, saying it'd "probably taste like shit", but Artemis gave them an ultimatum. "Either you girls eat this, or you go hunt, skin, clean, and cook your own meal." They were blurs after that, getting in front of both her and Percy in moments.

Percy smiled, though they could only tell by the twinkle in his eyes, and began to hand out food to anyone willing. He held bacon, crepes, and waffles while Artemis held french-toast, scrambled eggs, and pancakes, making the girls who still thoroughly hated him need to go to him or deny themselves the meaty goodness that was his bacon; the smell alone was that good.

After they'd all gotten what they wanted, regardless of how they felt about it, they all sat down, sans Percy, who didn't trust them not to booby trap his seat or stab him with a fork the moment he sat down. Leaning against a tree, he conjured a container of syrup on each table, as at least one of them had something that could be eaten with it, as well as blueberries, strawberries, and some orange juice.

For a while, none of them moved, but Zoe just ate as she already trusted him. Seeing one of their own just digging in like that prompted a few other to try, and as their face lit up, other joined in. After a while, all of them were eating happily. Finally seeing her hunters begin, Artemis decided to eat too. While she was eating, she asked him something. "Per- Purge, why aren't you eating anything?" Despite her asking him, she chose to return the favor from earlier, her eyes telling him he had NO choice in the matter.

He sighed, walking up to the platters on an empty table he'd made, making a plate for himself, and getting something for himself to eat. When he finally finished, he hopped into a tree's branch on the edge of the clearing, not really wanting to sit with the hunters for fear of a fight ruining breakfast.

As he sat up there, eating to his hearts content, he noticed Artemis giving him a look. Getting tired of it, he asked, "What is it, Artemis? I don't really like people staring at me." She sighed a moment before answering, "We won't bite you, Purge." He scoffed at that. "YOU wont. Zoe won't either. MAYBE Ms. Grace would refrain as well. But the rest would rather tear me apart; I can tell." As Artemis looked around at her hunters, none of them were able to meet her eyes, yet none of them denied the claim. Sighing once more, as was becoming a habit with Percy around, she shook her head. "Do as you will, guardian."

As time passed, the hunters eventually finished, talking with one another happily and dispersing from the table, not bothering to clear their tables or thank their cook, something he was sure they'd do for Artemis. Grumbling about ungrateful brats when they vacated the area thoroughly enough for them not to see his next actions, he snapped his fingers and the, well, EVERYTHING that they were previously using disappeared, leaving not a spec of food left. Shaking his head, he made his way to Artemis who was looking at him with wide eyes.

Before he could say a word, she asked him something that made him chuckle lightly. "Are you sure you're still a demigod, Perseus?" Shaking his head, he responded. "Of course. Haven't changed to anything else in the last 200 years. Now, Artemis, there are three important things we must address. 1: what's the schedule, as you know I can't be watching around the clock? You know, what time should I begin my lookout, what'll you be doing during those times so I can call you easily, etc." Artemis thought for a moment before responding, her voice sounding somewhat unsure. "Well, I don't really have a schedule. The best I can give are places I'll likely be at a certain time."

Percy chose to just make due with this and urged her on. "Well, in the mornings, I may be training the newer hunters personally or training myself. In the afternoons, I'll either be resting or hunting for dinner. During the night, I'll likely be either on my chariot or feeding the hunting wolves." Percy thought for a moment before asking her something. "Is the layout of this camp generally the same whenever you move?" At her nod, he continued. "Okay then. I'll memorize the layout easily. Now, onto the second thing, and this one is important." When he said that, his face got serious, and Artemis' followed suit.

"Now, Artemis," he began, "this ma come as a shocker to you after so long, but I thought you'd remember this. Don't call me Perseus. I HATE that name!" His serious expression, though it was really only the hardening of his eyes, broke by the end of it, adopting a pleading look. "Sure, Perseus," she deadpanned in response, making his shoulder slump. "Would you like it if I called you a name you hated?" She shook her head. "Then stop it!... Arty." Her eyes burst into flames(metaphorically) and she gave him a look that'd make Hades shiver, but he only smirked under his mask, delighting in the response he elicited. "See?" After thinking a moment, a somewhat devious thought came to mind. "You know what, you can call me Perseus as much as you want if I get to nickname you." He felt triumphant until he felt her glower at him, her godly presence strong enough that he thought she'd lose control of her true form.

Moving his hands in a placating manner, he tried to calm her down. "Now, now, I was just messin' with ya. How about we move on." She nodded stiffly, not wanting to dwell on the fact he'd called her that. "Well, uh, how've the others been? You know, Nico, Grover, and the rest." Artemis' face visibly softened at that. She gestured for him to follow her as she walked towards the treeline. "Things haven't been too good among your friends recently, but somethings have changed for the better. The satyr, Grover, learned respect in the face of my hunters after you left, though he got rather... depressed." She got to the edge of the forest and sat on a log, Percy taking a spot leaning against a tree.

After getting settled in, she continued, Percy's eyes glued to her with rapt attention. "The boy you said had survived, Valdez, has been found. He was travelling around and enjoying a life with Calypso. He was made immortal, and they were allowed to roam as well. Piper McLean has stayed rather humble and grown skilled, as has her husband." The word husband came out a little strained, making Percy take note that her bias was still there, even if she controlled it better in his presence.

Continuing, she moved on to the other child of Zeus. "Thalia took your banishment rather hard. She didn't really eat much and stopped training for a few weeks, but then she got over it. She didn't believe you were guilty for a second, and currently hates my father and uncles with a passion. Frank and Hazel are okay, both unbelieving when they heard you were banished, but they grew to accept it and moved on. Di Angelo took it the hardest, though. He hasn't been seen for a few years now. Last I saw of him, he was pale...er that usual. He didn't believe a bit of it either, but I overheard as he confessed to Thalia that he felt helpless, something she agreed on." She'd left what she thought would be the worst of them for last, not looking forward to his reaction. "Annabeth is actually rather happy. She'd settled down with a Hephaestus camper who was made immortal and currently has two godly children. She was a bit regretful of not supporting you when you were banished, but she's managed to let your memory fade into the background."

Percy was silent for a while, looking down and not enjoying what he was hearing. Looking her in the eyes, he shocked her with his own, both their color and intensity. Both eyes were coal black at that point, dark enough that they seemed to draw light in and showing remorse, presumably for the pain he caused his friends. "Artemis, can I take a few hours to visit Nico? I think I owe it to him." She nodded, and, in an instant, he fell into the shadow of the tree he was standing under.

* * *

Underworld- Hades Throne Room

* * *

Popping out of a shadow, he looked around, making sure he was where he intended to be. Looking up, he noticed that he was in front of Hades throne as he argued with Demeter and Persephone. "I have lost count how many times I've told you that I CAN'T let her go permanently! Once the food was eaten, that was IT! NOTHING I CAN DO!" Demeter was about to yell right back at him when Persephone cut her off. "Mother! Just let it be; you already know he can't change it now!"

Percy cleared his throat, feeling a bit uncomfortable being the witness of this. "You know, I COULD help that. For a price." All of them looked at him oddly, none of the really recognizing him. Rolling his eyes, he lowered his mask, revealing his face to the gods. Demeter began to beg for his help, though Hades looked a bit conflicted. Persephone herself was neutral; after all, she'd get out for most of the year anyway.

After he managed to convince Demeter that he'd do it after the other agreed to his terms, he looked to Hades and Persephone. Hades conflicted look melted away under Percy's gaze, replaced by a look of eagerness. Take her. It's not as if I care anymore." Percy was getting a serious love reading from Hades, making him smile lightly at the fact that the glum god had a heart. Looking to the subject of all this, he was answered with a shrug.

Taking that as his cue, he walked towards the three gods, his anchor tattoo glowing ominously. Grabbing a hold of Persephone's shoulder, he said a small incantation before pulling back his hand. Floating in front of it were some pomegranate seeds, the same ones she'd eaten to get herself where she was. Demeter began to tear up, overjoyed at her daughter's freedom, and offered him a lifetime supply of free cereal. "Maybe another time, Demeter." As he was the first in a long time to not outright deny her offer, she began to glow happily.

As he refocused on Persephone, he noticed that she didn't share her mother's exuberance. Asking about this, they were all shocked by the answer she gave. "I'm happy that I get a choice now, but I've grown to like it down here during the winter. I think I'll just stick around." Hades face brightened visibly, but he tried to play it off as a sense of victory over Demeter, who was still gaping.

Smiling knowingly at Hades, he made his request. "Can I see Nico?" Hades was a bit surprised, but he hid it in his usual fashion: impassiveness. "I thought you said you didn't want anyone to know you were back, Jackson?" Percy rubbed the back of his neck, his black eyes becoming more intense. "He deserves to know. I heard he was one of those who didn't believe it when the news broke, so he's among those who deserve to know I'm back, at least. It'll get out eventually, but until then, he'll be in the know." Even as he was saying this, Hades already agreed with him, snapping his fingers to summon Nico.

Nico popped out of a shadow, his monotone voice ringing out as he landed on one knee, his face to the floor. "Yes, Father?" Hades shook his head. "I have need of you, son. But HE does." Pointing at Percy, he walked out of the throne room, Persephone and the still shocked Demeter following his example, walking briskly behind him. The doors slammed and Percy could hear Demeter addressing Hades about her daughter. Shaking his head, he turned to Nico, who couldn't suppress a gasp at the sight of him, even with decades of emotion suppressing under his belt.

Getting up on shaky legs, he whispered, "P-Percy?" Percy nodded. "Hey, Ni-" He was cut off as the now grown Nico slammed into him, bawling like a child. Percy wrapped his arms around him in a brotherly embrace, feeling even guiltier at the thought that he caused his brother in all but blood so much pain. When Nico finally calmed down, they both got up, as Percy was thrown into the ground, and he said, "I missed you so much. You don't know how-" Percy cut him off this time with a hand on his head. "I know, Nico. I know, and I'm sorry. But I'm back now..." Nico smiled happily, something he hadn't done in ages. Percy then continued, a somewhat scared look on his face. "... and I'll need your help when I tell Thalia. I'm actually guarding the Hunt right now, so I NEED to calm her down, else she'll get to throw potshots at me while I do my new job. With LIGHTNING!"

Grinning like a madman, which he somewhat resembled, he said, "Sure thing, bro. It's been a while since we've had a reunion." Nodding, Percy grabbed Nico, after his mask returned to cover his face, shocking him as they shadow traveled back to the Hunter's camp, right where Artemis was waiting for him.

* * *

Overworld- Hunter's Camp

* * *

"I thought you said a few HOURS, not a few minutes. You're not very good with time, are you? And I never said he could enter my camp." Percy brushed her off, only offering a light explanation. "I'm great with time. I'm just crap at predictions. As for Nico here, well, I need some back up against Thalia. Then I'll talk to them BOTH for those hours." As she nodded and brushed off Nico's bowing, they both made their way to Thalia's tent, which she was currently holed up in.

Now, the tents were rather large, each having a personalized solid oak door on the outside. So as they approached, both were a bit intimidated by the sight of the pure black door with silver accents and carvings of lightning. Before Percy could knock and sign their death warrant, Nico grabbed his hand. "Are you sure?" As Percy nodded, Nico resigned to fight for his life, if the need arose. When they knocked on the door, Thalia opened it, music blaring in the background, though she turned it down to open the door without it alerting the whole camp.

Her eyes lit up when she saw Nico and Percy, who lowered his mask, before darkening like a stormy day. Grabbing them both by their necks, she threw them into her cabin and slammed the door, confusing any hunters within earshot.

As the two of them stumbled in, Percy tripped on a stool she was sitting on, almost landing on her spear, which she'd been sharpening. Nico was lucky, he just hit the ground with a thud. When they both looked up at her, sparks were flying all around, threatening to electrocute them. "Explain. Now." Her voice came out deceptively calm, making both boys shiver. While they could just shadow travel away, it'd only make it worse, and they knew it.

Percy got up, making placating gestures with his hands. "Now, Thals..." The sparks began to become stronger, arcing towards him until a few were stinging him. "Okay, okay. Just calm down." That was the wrong thing to say. Thalia got in his face in an instant, grabbing him. "You go to Tartarus for 50 years, get accused of TREASON, then show up again, return Zoe from the fucking DEAD, appear with WINGS and call yourself Purge after flying from Olympus to here in a few minutes, correct our millennia old goddess on her course of action, then make a bunch of shit appear then disappear after cooking, COOKING for us, and you want me to CALM DOWN!" Percy stared at her for a moment before nodding. She growled, ready to fry his ass when Nico interrupted. "He can't explain if you electrocute him, Thals." Looking at him for a moment, as if to consider electrocuting him too, she let him go.

Percy dusted of his shirt, nodding in thanks at Nico who gave him a thumbs up. Looking back to Thalia, he found her tapping her foot with her arms crossed, sparks slowly dying down. "Well?" Percy gulped, trying to hide the small amount of trepidation he was feeling, before beginning. "Well, what do you want to know? I went to Tartarus, conquered Tartarus, then left Tartarus. Details?" The nod that came from both his audience members was enough. "Well, it all began when I fell into the River Lethe, and no, I didn't lose my memory, I dragged myself out and met some Cyclopes' who were in the middle of a game of pinochle..."

He went on for an hour or so, telling them the basic gist of his time in Tartarus, leaving somethings out for the sake of secrecy. They learned that he had domains, yet was still a demigod, a concept that somewhat baffled them. They learned he had minor authority over monsters as well as some control over the mortality of the body a person was inhabiting, along with his power over light, his power over the earth, minor shadow powers due to his domain of Tartarus, increased water powers, and increased earth powers, though he never really used them. The most shocking part of the story was that he had control over time, something they didn't believe until he froze time and appeared on her bed. No blur or high-speed movement, he just appeared there, cementing their belief.

He even told them about being the primordial's power source, of sorts, which was the real reason behind his multicolored eyes, even Gaea, which he had to quell their suspicions on. "I'm not on the gods' side anymore, so I have no reason to deny her power." When he said that, they quickly hounded him for an answer, asking if he wasn't on their side anymore. "I never said that, now did I? I said I'm not on the gods' side. Nor am I on the titans' nor the primordials'. I'm on MY side, and I still have my friends' back if it comes down to it. I've actually been preventing a war for the longest while, you know." He then went on to explain that the primordials were all free, and the same went for the titans, who rebuilt their base, and they could wage war on Olympus at any point. "The only thing stopping the titans is me. The primordials, except Gaea and maybe Tartarus, have no real interest in ruling either, so you guys are fine."

Getting back on topic, he told them of his occasional travels outside of Tartarus, though they questioned him on why he didn't visit, to which his only response was "Would YOU, if the gods thought you were imprisoned in hell, wanted you to stay there, and you wanted to keep them ignorant?" Their silence spoke for itself as he continued. Eventually, he got to the point in his story where all the monsters feared him, so he sought to dispel that by gaining some trust among them. He saved a few groups from death at the hands of demigods, making sure neither side knew who had stopped it until he got rid of the demigods. After a few years of this in between his training, he managed to get well liked in Tartarus, at least half it's citizens giving him something akin to hero worship, as annoying as it was for him.

Moving on from there, his tale progressed to the point where he began fighting in the arena occasionally, clearing the board whenever he was the final competitor. They were never told that the warriors they bet on had to fight Perseus, so it was always an upset when they reached the end, only to get cut down. It was a great money maker for him, though, as he owned part of Tartarus, and thus got some of the income. "Tartarus is more civilized that you think. Well, I trained for the next few decades, doing this on the side whenever I felt like it. I was fighting Iapetus, Koios, Krios, Hyperion, and Kronos in a 5 v. 1, eventually winning, when the Olympians called me up, freeing me. It's been 2 days since then, and I chose to remain in secrecy until I felt it was time to reveal myself. You two are the only ones beside the Olympians to know I'm back."

When he finished his tale, there was a silence that descended over the trio as his audience digested the info, finding it hard to consider Percy so powerful. He already radiated power like that of a god before, but now, they felt like he was on a completely different level. Thalia broke out of her shock first, smirking. "Well then, Lord Seaweed Brain..." It was small, so small she almost didn't notice, but there was a small twitch at the mention of his old pet name. "Are you still not over that?" Nico asked what she was talking about, so she elaborated. "He still has something with Annabitch." Nico gaped at Percy for a moment. "Really, bro?"

Percy shook his head before explaining. "I never really addressed what I felt after she abandoned me. I kinda just... tried to kill the feelings. I hear she's moved on, and so have I; you're just poking at an old wound." Despite talking with his friends, his tone shifted subtly, letting them know that he wasn't dealing with her right now. Leaving the issue, Thalia asked, "Do you plan on hiding for a while? It'll be weird to call you "Purge" for a while." Percy shrugged. "Depends on what happens. People will find out eventually, but I rather they don't for as long as possible. Hero worship gets real old, real quick, you know."

At that moment, Percy checked his perfect internal clock and gasped. "Holy shit, it's almost noon already." Both looked at him oddly, both for the statement and his wording. He rolled his eyes. "A century or two in hell will do that to you. Now, I think it's about time for me to make lunch." Nico was confused at this. "Make lunch?" Thalia laughed. "Yeah. Lady Artemis has him cooking for us!" Percy sighed as he shadow-traveled away, Nico snickering at him. Smirking, he decided to get back at them before he left. Stopping just as his head was about to sink into the ground, he watched as they began to laugh at him, Thalia falling on his shoulder. Taking that as his cue, he began. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. Make sure to wear a condom." For good measure, he made one appear in Nico's lap as he let his head sink into the ground. Thalia's foot came down on where his head once was, her face comparable in shade to a tomato, Nico not too much different. They both looked at each other, then the condom currently in Nico's hand, and managed to blush harder.

Laughing as he appeared in the slightly darkened food tent, he stepped out, calling to Artemis in a whisper. "Oi, Arty!" A growl sounded in front of him, causing him to look down. She was in her twelve year old form, so he was a little more than a full head taller than her. "Sorry about that; didn't see you there." Calming herself down, she became 18, the same age he appeared to be at that moment. "Better?" While she did get taller, which is what she intended, she also, well, grew up. Percy was glad he was wearing a mask, because even the rather light blush that came across his face would get him killed in this hostile environment.

Shaking his head, he asked, "Am I cooking lunch, too?" Smirking, she responded. "Well, since you offered... Oh, and lunch is in a few minutes, so I suggest you hurry up." Turning around, she turned back to being twelve, smirking triumphantly. Percy just shrugged. His voice asked, yawning, _'Does she know you can slow down time for such a meager task?'_ He shook his head and told him to either go back to sleep or help him. Purge decided to stay, taking over the process of slowing down time so he'd be all there mentally for the meal, no MASTERPIECE he was about to create. "Welcome to the grind, Percy," he mumbled to himself as he got started.

* * *

A Few Minutes Later

* * *

Nico and Thalia were sparring up until Artemis called for lunch, which they raced to, eager to see how Percy fared with only a few minutes to pull something together. When they got there, the hunters were already there and EVERYONE was wondering where the smell was coming from. Percy walked out of the tent with an apron on that read "Kiss the Cook" but he wrote on in sharpie "Or Not". He had a chef's hat on in place of his headphones, tilted at an angle which completed the look. As he walked, he was carefully keeping his balance with a few plates stacked on various parts of his upper body. "Okay, so we have pork short ribs, mashed potatoes, a few different types of wraps for those who're a bit picky, grilled corn salad with Poblano Peppers, though it does have cheese in it, so don't take it if you're allergic, and I have some pizza back in the tent, though I couldn't carry it. Take your pick." Everyone's jaws dropped at the assortment of foods he'd managed to prepare. The real shock was felt by Thalia and Nico, who didn't even think he could cook, Thalia never registering that it was Percy who made breakfast.

After he shared everything with everyone, bringing chairs, a rather long table for everyone, plates, forks, knives, and napkins into existence before their very eyes, he stood behind Nico, who sat next to Thalia and Zoe. The table was a decently big one, seating Artemis, Phoebe, Zoe, Thalia, and Nico with ease. Artemis gave him a look that said "explain" as she dug into the meal, enjoying it thoroughly. "Haha. A few minutes to you could be a few hours for me with a simple, sustained thought." Nico looked up from his pizza. "That's cheating, man!" Percy looked at him with eyes that said "really" before grabbing a piece of pepperoni from his slice and walking away, both his and Thalia's laughter plain to hear. How he ate it through his mask is a mystery to them, but they didn't question it.

As he made his way to the same tree he sat in before, he went to lay in a branch until they were done when Artemis asked, "Where are you going, Per- Purge?" He gestured to the mass of hunters then to his tree, thinking that was enough explanation. "Di Angelo is sitting just fine, isn't he?" Artemis pointed out. "Well, he has Thalia between him and the wolv- er, girls." Said girls glared at him for that, grumbling about how he deserved it.

Gesturing to them in a "See!?" manner, he turned back to his tree before Artemis coughed. "I refuse to exclude the one who cooked the meal from this group as we eat. Get over here. NOW." Sighing in acceptance, he proceeded to stand behind Nico, feeling the safest there. Holding out a hand, he surprised everyone as a pizza slice flew into it. Bringing it to his mouth, he asked, "Happy?" as he went to take a bite... through his mask, somehow. Artemis "hm"ed before responding. "Better, but not quite. It'll do for now." Like that, they had lunch, Percy taking whatever he wanted from the table as he stood behind Nico for protection.

When they were finished, he got, at best, 5 mumbled "thank you"s from the hunters, a "not bad" from Artemis, and actual thanks from Phoebe, Thalia, Zoe, and Nico. When Artemis gave her version of a thank you and left to train a bit, Zoe, after she thanked him, said, "Don't mind milady; she has a hard time admitting a man can do anything well, even one such as yourself." Percy nodded. "I can tell." And with that, proceeded to jump into a tree, going from branch to branch until he stood at the top, resuming his job as a guardian.

Thalia looked to Nico and asked, "Are you gonna go now?" He shook his head. "Nah, I'll stick around. Wanna spar again? You won't the excuse of being hungry this time." She smirked, fully prepared to make him eat those words. Phoebe and Zoe were left. Phoebe shook her head in disbelief of what was happening. "To think the day would come when we DON'T rip boys apart for even being among us." Zoe shook her head in dissent. "No, 'tis not a day such as that, Phoebe. Those males are different." Phoebe cocked an eyebrow at her speech pattern. "You've been speaking better modern English recently. What happened." She smiled as she gave a one word response. "Purge."

An hour or so later, Zoe and Phoebe were sparring with Artemis at the same time. The match only began a little bit before, but the two girls were already losing badly, unable to keep up with her godly abilities, mainly her speed. Once she knocked them both to the ground, standing triumphantly, Zoe gave her an idea. "You should spar with Purge, milady, if you want a real challenge. He's rather strong." The other hunters, who were around to watch the match, mumbled to each other about one of their own calling a man strong. "You think she's broken her oath?" "No, this guy must just be actually strong. She's been around forever; she wouldn't break that oath." Such were the natures of the whispers that went around.

Artemis thought about it for a moment before nodding. Cupping her hands, she shouted, "Purge! Get over here!" Most of the hunters smirked, thinking the male was about to get his ass handed to him. They were all shocked when Percy appeared in the middle of the training area with no sign of arrival until he said, "Yes, Artemis?" After she got her heart back in her chest cavity, she smirked at him. "I want you to spar with me. Don't worry about guarding us; we're all here. Just fight at your best, because I won't be holding back." With that said, she went into the middle of the clearing they used as a training area, waiting for him to ready himself.

Shrugging, he began stretching a bit, warming himself up. Once he nodded, Artemis turned into an 18 year old, making Percy, Zoe, Phoebe, and Thalia raise an eyebrow, oddly in sync. Seeing their faces, she explained. "I was short enough that he lost track of me in my earlier form, so I don't want him to make that excuse when he loses." Percy's eye twitched, but then he decided to get some payback. Retracting his shirt until it was just his face mask, he smirked at her slight blush. "If you're gonna get rid of you're advantage, I'll get rid of mine; nothing you have could've cut through that, so I'll remove it. It's only fair. I doubt you'll scratch me anyway, though." With that, he stood across from her, waiting for her to begin.

Shaking her head to clear it, she told Zoe, "Start the match." They stood a good 30 yards apart, muscles tensed in anticipation of the other's move. Zoe said, "Begin!" but neither of them moved, wanting the other to move first. Artemis was never the most patient outside of hunting, so she moved first, dashing to the side as took out her bow, nocking an arrow and letting it fly. Dodging the arrow, he dashed to the side as well, going in the same direction as her so she wouldn't be able to catch him. He pulled out his own bow and sent an arrow at her speeding form, which she dodged by changing her speed. This was how it went, trading arrows that never hit their mark. But this wasn't because either of them were bad with their aim; far from it. They were speeding around the training ground with speed that made Zoe gape, having never been able to force Artemis to use such speed on her. They just couldn't hit each other.

Soon, they both stopped across from one another and started using their bows like machine guns, arrows cancelling each other out as they met in the middle. They slowly started to walk towards one another, going faster and faster, but neither could gain an advantage. When they were only 10 feet away from one another after loosing hundreds of arrows, the retracted their bows, Artemis' disappearing in a silver flash and his becoming a bracelet, and charged one another, Artemis using her hunting knives and Percy with his dual swords.

Bringing one of his swords in an upwards slash as he ran at her, he prepared to counter her counter to the move. And counter she did, deflecting the strike off one of her knives and sending the other at his chest. With a flick of his wrist, he spun his sword and knocked that hand away, leaving her open. He smashed the pommel of his silver sword, tho one he spun a moment prior, into her stomach, making her go reeling backwards. Not letting up, he began to slowly push her back, pressing his advantage as best her could. It was a blur of silver and gold as he slowly upped his speed, trying to disable her without moving too fast.

Unfortunately for him, she wasn't an Olympian for nothing; in fact, she had the best combat ability of any of the others, beating even Ares. She quickly recovered, matching him blow for blow. Neither actually landed a blow on the other, though, so this continued for a LONG while. After ten minutes of them pushing one another back and forth, feints and taunts being tossed around, Percy managed to knock a knife from her hand, shocking her enough that he could knock the other from her hand.

His triumphant look annoyed her, so she growled and did the only thing she could think to: tackle him. He let go of his swords as the went tumbling to the ground so he wouldn't stab either of them by accident, leaving them laying on the ground as they wrestled for dominance, trying to put the other into a submission hold or knock them out. Off to the side, the hunters were just staring wide-eyed at the display of power. Even Zoe hadn't seen him fight this hard, though that was probably because he was fighting WITH his godly enhancements on. _'Wait a second, he should be destroying her if he's using those...'_ With wide eyes, she realized that he was holding back, further shocking her. Thalia just smiled, though. When Zoe saw it and asked why, she gave a response that got the attention of the other hunters. "Pay attention to Lady Artemis. She's SMILING!"

True to her words, Artemis, and Percy, for that matter, had face splitting grins on, still trying to gain dominance over the other, though no one could tell for Percy. Artemis finally gained the upper hand this time, her luck winning out, and she sat on his chest, materializing a knife and holding it to his neck. She forgot that she couldn't cut through the "fabric" though, so Percy was actually still in it. He'd simultaneously created an arrow, which he pressed against the open skin at HER neck, making her shiver at the contact. At that exact moment, Apollo came to get Artemis for a meeting, but was stunned silent at the position they were in, her sitting on his chest, him shirtless, and both of them sweating. He then took out his cell phone and started recording. Artemis, careful not to cut herself on the sharp metal point at her neck, said, "Draw?" He smirked under his mask. "Not quite."

With that, in a show of rather decent abdominal strength, he did a sit up with her on his chest, throwing her off and onto her back. With extreme speed, he pinned both her hands above her head, using one of his hands to hold them their as the other held the arrow to her neck once more. He was already leaning over her, but he brought his head down to her ear and whispered, "My win..." They were interrupted, although they'd actually just finished, by Apollo clearing his throat. "Uh, dad wanted to talk to Artemis about something, but if you're busy..."

Percy got off of her like it was nothing, stretching his muscles. "We were just finishing up, actually; You can have her. Oh, and if anyone see that recording, I swear to Khaos..." With that, his face mask flowed back down his body, becoming a shirt once more. He stretched out his hand, lifting the blushing Artemis to her feet before she went back to her twelve year old form. Walking over to Apollo, she turned to Percy. "I'll be back before 8 tonight. Make sure you've HUNTED and cooked before then, because I'm on schedule to rise twenty minutes after 8." Turning back to the smirking Apollo, she said, "If you say a word-" their conversation was cut off as they flashed away.

Percy chuckled at their sibling rivalry before he felt the eyes of the hunters on him, once more trying to kill him with them. "Oh don't get your panties in a bunch; I won fair and square, and I think the victor is entitled to do some teasing." With that, he held out his hands, making his swords fly back to them as he walked into the woods to hunt, leaving the hunters to be angry at his memory and ignoring the smirks from Thalia and Nico.

* * *

A Hours Later

* * *

Percy wiped his brow with his apron as he felt Artemis appear in camp. After Apollo, APOLLO, managed to sneak up on and record him, he kept his senses on high alert, not letting anything in or out of the camp without his knowledge. Regardless, he just finished making a pretty big meal out of the deer, and stepped out into the open, creating another long table like he used at lunch, though this one had benches. _'Thank you, Khaos!'_ A small _'Your welcome.'_ was heard in the back of his head, but he ignored it and chose to set out dinner for the hunters. He put down a platter with cuts of deer steak, fried deer, grilled dear, and even deer-kabobs he made with the left over pieces and some veggies so none was wasted. He also put some rice out, because rice goes with just about everything, and made their plates appear in their respective positions.

Artemis gaped at him, before turning away and calling the hunters for dinner. When they arrived, they saw ANOTHER meal set out for them and a few of them couldn't help but raise their eyebrows. Phoebe spoke for those who were confused, aka most of them. "I thought milady instructed you to hunt for this meal, Purgatory." He smiled under his masks, the only indication being the smiling feeling his eyes gave off. "All that meet there is venison, aka deer, that I hunted, skinned, cleaned, cut, and cooked on my own. Took a while, but it was doable." With that, he took out a triangle and began to ring it, a twinkle in his eyes. "Dinner's ready, girls." As he put it away, they all got seated. He took his time taking off his apron when he noticed a distinct lack of eating noises. Once he couldn't untie the knot behind his back and just made it disappear, he looked up to find Artemis looking at him expectantly, as did Thalia, Zoe, and Nico. Phoebe didn't really care, and the hunters were eager to dig in, unsure as to why their mistress told them to wait.

Percy raised an eyebrow questioningly, conveying his question wordlessly. "You're going to enjoy your own meal this time, Per- Purge. Sit. Now." The tone in her voice left no room for argument, so he made his way to the end of the table with Artemis, about to make a chair for himself when she scooted over, giving him a seat. "Since when were you nice?" She glared at him. "Since when did people reject a gift?" He gave her a deadpan look that said it all. "Oh yeah. Fine then, don't sit." Just as she went to go back to her position, he slid onto the bench. "Never said no, now did I?" At that, Artemis gave the hunters the okay to eat.

After Artemis took a bite, her eyes gained a dark look. As everyone around her ate happily, Nico, the master of dirty looks, noticed the one she was giving Percy as she slowly ate her food. "Uh, Lady Artemis, are you okay?" His comment drew the attention of Zoe, who was right next to Artemis, Phoebe, who was next to Zoe, and Thalia, who was next to him.

She nodded stiffly, still glaring holes into Percy, who dutifully ignore it. Eventually getting fed up with it, he addressed Artemis. "Okay, what did I do? If it's about your brother, I'm sorry, alright?" She shook her head before looking hard at him. "I was fine with you being a better overall cook than I am, but deer is my specialty! How the hell did you do... THIS with deer!?" Percy laughed. "Oh, that? I've been experimenting for over a century with all types of cooking. Makes sense I'm good at it, right? I can give you lessons if you want."

Artemis nodded before sulking in front of her food. Zoe couldn't help it anymore and burst out laughing, Nico, Thalia, and Phoebe right behind her. Even Percy chuckled a bit, making her sink further into her mini-depression. Then he resumed eating, finally getting questioned by Nico as to how he ate through his mask. His response was "magic", which was actually completely plausible.

After all the hunters were finished eating, Artemis went to feed the wolves and let them know where to go before she went to get her chariot, leaving Perseus in charge of the hunt. Turning to the hunters, he could practically feel their distaste at following his orders, but he didn't particularly care. "Okay, I don't care what you think of me, as such I won't try to change it. Just go pack your stuff and be ready for Artemis to return with her chariot. You have... 9 minutes 18 seconds and counting. Get to it." After they finished, they had a few seconds before Artemis arrived, which Percy used to call his own ride.

After he put his headphones on, he took out some keys and clicked a button on a remote hanging from the end. The ground began to rumble after that, Artemis appearing just as a slanted hole appeared in the ground. Two lights appeared in the ground as the shaking grew stronger, getting closer and closer. Soon, a black blur flew out of the ground, landing right in front of Percy. He smiled as he walked up to it, though no one could tell, and began talking. "6.2 Liter Supercharged Hemi V8-SRT Hellcat Engine with 700 horsepower. Top speed: 204 mph without my nitrous. 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat." After he was done, he threw himself on the hood. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"

The hunters stared at him oddly while Nico had stars in his eyes. "Bro, you HAVE to let me drive this thing." Percy may as well have hissed at him for that. "Oh come on! Don't be like that, man." Percy rolled his eyes and clicked another remote on a different set of keys, another light coming from the still gaping hole in the ground. Once it landed, it was shown to be a black bike with red and gray accents. He tossed the keys to Nico as he spoke. "Suzuki Hayabusa. 1340 cc engine, 197 horse power, and a top speed of 248 mph. You scratch her, I scratch you. Out of existence. Oh, and it can shadow travel if you have a problem with flying. I'll be nice; you can borrow her until tomorrow." Nico all but bowed down to him, making the hunters roll their eyes, a collective thought common among their ranks. _'Boys...'_

Artemis looked at her watch, which she created at that exact moment due to the lack of a moon they could see(A/N: They can see through the mist, which would make mortals not notice a thing.). She cursed to herself before transforming her chariot into a 12 seat Dodge Sprinter(A/N: I'm a car geek, okay? Don't judge me.). As she began to load her hunter up, Percy asked her a question which made Thalia's ears perk up. "Why don't you just turn it into a limo?" Artemis shook her head, crushing Thalia's hope. "You've spoiled my hunters enough for one day." As they continued to load up, Percy and Nico putting their tents/bags in the back, she went to tell her hunting wolves that she was ready to go, so they should get moving.

While she was doing that, Percy finished packing the bags, as Nico gave up when he felt how heavy they were, he said, seemingly to no one, "Yo, can I be the dark side of the moon tonight? Makes my job easier." A voice that sent chills down the spine of every hunter that heard it rang out from every dark spot around them, which was pretty much everywhere, as they'd taken down camp and it was night time. "Sure thing. Makes my job easier, too." With that, the voice was gone, leaving everyone to wonder who that was. When Thalia asked, he responded as if it was an everyday occurrence. "Oh, that was just Erebus. I'm taking over as the dark side of the moon tonight, so I just had to get the okay from him." As everyone stared at him, wide eyed, he got in his car and revved the engine, his eyes reflecting the orgasmic bliss that spread through him. "Oh, I missed this SO MUCH!"

A while later, if one was able to see through the mist, you could see a muscle car and sports bike cruising along side a large van... in the sky. Percy made a comment to Nico about it through his open window. "You know, for anyone who can see this through the mist, we probably look ridiculous." Nico thought about it, then chuckled. "I don't even care. You know what, I'm gonna go take this baby for a spin. Have fun, Perce." Just as he was about to shoot off into the night, he stopped, a smirk on his that Percy couldn't see due to the helmet he had on. "Percy! You may want this." He tossed Percy the condom he was given earlier. "Make sure you don't put a bun in that oven during your "cooking lessons" with Lady Artemis." Percy set it on fire and chucked it at the laughing immortal as he rode off. "Fucker..." With a shake of his head, he closed his windows and turned his music all the way up again, enjoying the bass from the speakers he installed in the back and the lack of sound loss due to soundproofing his entire car.

* * *

Two Weeks Later- End of the Month

* * *

It was approaching midday, and neither Percy nor Artemis were out and about. They were both confined to the food tent in their current camp site, actually. One would find Percy showing her her how to... properly beat eggs. He found that she had no real culinary skill at all, though she never really needed any; he just had to start from scratch. "Okay, now you try. When you're done-" He was cut off by some of the egg flying so far out of the bowl that it managed to hit his face mask. _'She MAY just be worse at this that Atlas. ATLAS!'_ Sighing, he waved his hands and made a new bowl, as she dropped the previous one when she covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. Handing her the last eggs from a carton, he watched her crack them with little trouble, get the small bit of shell out, then go to beat them again.

Seeing her begin to do the same thing she was before, he stopped her. "Do you remember how I held it, Arty?" She glared at him for the name, but nodded; it was kinda fair, since she had gotten eggs on him. "Okay, try to emulate that as best you can. Don't worry if you're not perfect; the most comfortable hold tends to differ from person to person." She adjusted her hold on both the wisk and the bowl, trying to copy Percy as best she could.

Once she began again, and was about to get some on him again(He could tell), he stepped up behind her and gently held her arms, making her freeze up. At that exact moment, Nico popped up in the corner, intent on seeing Percy cook, when he saw them in that position. Clasping his hand over his mouth to stop himself from making a stupid remark, he used his godly abilities to create a camera, set the broadcasting frequency, and quickly stepped back into the shadows.

He appeared on Olympus, ready to prank Percy to no end. _'He's gonna KILL me for this, but it'll be so worth it.'_ Finding Aphrodite, though it was hard as her house seemed to sparkle in every way possible, extremely limiting the amount of shadows, he told her about what he saw, making her squeal in delight. "Oh, this is gonna be good!" He told her that he had it broadcasting to his own personal surveillance system, so he had the recording ready whenever. When she asked him WHY he had one of those, he just responded in the way he could most easily get her off his case and onto Percy's. "Part of my job. In Hades. Wanna know more?" When she, predictably, declined, she grabbed him and flashed to her husband to set things up.

A few hours later, Hermes came into camp, a pleased look on his face. He asked one of the hunters where Artemis was and when he got the location, and a dirty look, he sped of to the training grounds. He found Artemis and Percy having an archery competition, Zoe and Thalia as the judges. As he called out to them, he got a dirty look from Artemis. "What is it, Hermes? This is important." Hermes put his hands up in surrender. "You can finish first." She nodded in thanks, as did Percy, before they locked eyes, cleared their targets of arrows with divine powers, and started filling them with arrows. Each and every arrow hit the bulls-eye, some of the even splitting a previous arrow down the middle. Their hands were blurs as they shot, both of them having looks of concentration on their faces.

Zoe said, "Time!" after a period of 10 second, cutting both immortals off. Thalia went and counter the arrows, a shocked look coming over her face. Running back the 50 yard distance, she looked at Artemis's smirking face and gave the score. "Lady Artemis, you got 120 in 10 seconds. Percy, you got... 170..." Percy began to jump around joyfully as Artemis shared Hermes' and Zoe's shocked look. "H-how? I'm the GODDESS of archery!?" Percy popped up in front of her, poking her in the nose. "In your face! I get a vacation! WOOO!"

After he calmed himself down, he looked to Hermes, who looked at him, thoroughly amused by what he just witnessed. "Okay then, there's a meeting on Olympus; just a general update one. You can bring the hunters if you want; everyone else is bringing a person or two. Aphrodite said she had something, though. Watch out." With that, he flashed out, leaving Artemis, Percy, Thalia, and Zoe alone in the training area.

A while later, all the hunters were in the throne room, sitting at Artemis's feet, while almost every Olympian had at least one person at theirs. Zeus had Jason and a camper Percy didn't recognize, Poseidon had a camper, apparently a child of his, Hades had Nico, Dionysus had Pollux, Aphrodite had both Drew and Piper, Demeter had Katie, Ares had Clarisse and Frank, Hermes had both his twins, Connor and Travis Stoll, Athena had Annabeth, Apollo had Will Solace, and Hephaestus had Leo and another camper Percy didn't recognize. The only one who didn't have anyone beneath them were Hestia and Hera, for obvious reasons.

Percy, though, was a bit confused. He was in the back of the hunter's group, so he went to the front and nudged Thalia before whispering, "When did the gods get so... open about what happened in their meetings?" Thalia shook her head and whispered back. "They still aren't, at least when it's important. This is a general meeting, though, so every god brings a representative. It's more so that they can be lazy and not have to update the demigods in person. Each person is either a camp director or a cabin leader, so they pass on the info." Percy nodded in thanks as Zeus began to speak.

"Greetings. As usual, anyone who has anything of importance to share may do so now within the Olympian council." At that, Demeter began a little speech on the virtues lost on the youth they bring forth and how they could fix it, a seemingly common occurrence from the looks on the demigods' faces. After she was done, though she was brushed off by Zeus, Dionysus brought forth a plea to get himself a shortened sentence. _'It seems he got that shortened sentence withdrawn from him,'_ chimed Purge, stating the obvious.

After a few gods brought somewhat trivial matters to the table, Poseidon's camper raised a hand, having a question. Zeus allowed him to speak. "I do not mean to pry, Lady Artemis, but may I know who the man that accompanies your hunters is?" The other non-Olympians,sans the hunters and Nico, nodded, wishing to know why a male was among the hunters.

Artemis looked at Percy for confirmation, but she was surprised when she heard his voice in her head. _'Don't tell them it's me, but let them know of my position.'_ After the look of surprise left her face, it was replaced with confusion. _'You never did explain why, Perseus.'_ The hard look he gave her made her roll her eyes as she retracted her words. _'Percy. SO sorry.'_ As he nodded his head, he responded, leaving his audience in the dark. _'Well, you get tired of hero worship REAL quick when even some monster give it to you.'_ She looked at him strangely before nodding.

Turning to the one who asked, she responded. "He is the temporary guardian of my hunters, as our numbers are low and I have other duties to attend to at times." The eyes of the demigods and immortals who didn't know about Percy widened at the implications. The first was that, if she left him in her place, he had to be as strong as her. The second: she trusted the well-being of her hunters to a man. All of them stored that as a bit of gossip for later as Aphrodite took the stage.

The initial response to her was the roll of multiple pairs of eyes, but when she looked to her husband for something, they knew she had something to ACTUALLY show them; she never asked her husband for things. Hephaestus snapped his fingers before looking apologetically at Percy, his eyes saying he was sorry, though for what Percy had no clue. A LARGE TV appeared in the middle of the semicircle as Aphrodite got up and, still in her giant for, turned to her audience. "Well, I have big news about the newest couple on Olympus!" While everyone else lost interest at that, believing their hope was misplaced, Percy was wracking his head, trying to think of how he tied into this.

When he finally got it, he said something out loud that made everyone look at him in surprise. "Ah fuck." He waved them off with decent acting skills, pretending to have stubbed his toe against the edge of Artemis' throne. He slowly made his way to the OTHER side of her throne at that point, not wanting to be near the hunters if what he thought was gonna happen was gonna happen. The TV turned on and his face slammed into his palm with enough force that he thought he broke either his hand or his nose. Or both.

On the screen was Percy teaching Artemis how to cook, but it came in at an... inopportune moment. Percy was behind her, correcting her hold on the wisk and bowl in a very... hands on manner. Her hands were grasped by his, his face right next to hers. Her being in her 18 year old form didn't help the matter. Her face had turned beet red, rather similar to her face as she relived the moment in her throne.

In the video, Percy was showing her the correct movements for wisking, and, when she eventually got it, he stepped back, a happy look in his eye. "See! You can do it if you try!" They then moved on to slice strips of chicken and dip them in the eggs before putting them in a mixture. When they set it frying, Artemis managed to burn her hand, so he held it and encircled it in water, both making it feel better and using his powers to heal her. As he healed her hand, she sulked a bit. "Don't worry about it; I almost burned myself my own fair share of times. Fortunately for me, children of Poseidon are somewhat hard to burn, but you have to be a bit more careful than that."

As she nodded, he finished up healing her burn, but then he told her he'd finish making the meal for the hunters. Sending her off, he then noticed the camera on the ground and said, "Oh fuck no you don't. My secrets STAY secret." After that, he snapped his fingers and a thin concentration of water formed in the air, became pointed, and flew at the camera. The recording ended there.

As every one stayed dead silent, Percy cursed to himself. _'FUCK! I didn't think it was broadcasting what it recorded!'_ Purge laughed at him in his head before being blocked out by Percy, who didn't really need salt poured on his wounds at that moment in time. He looked around the room at the divine and semi-divine beings that were beginning to come out of their shocked stupor and thought to himself, _'I should probably take my vacation right now.'_ With that, he began to creep towards the shadow behind Artemis' chair, trying not to draw any attention to himself.

It was a futile endeavor, as everyone who snapped out of their shocked state snapped their heads towards Artemis, and him by relation. As he froze like a deer caught in the headlights, the Olympians broke out laughing while the others just stared in shock and, in the hunter's case, anger.

Athena was the first to calm herself, never really being one for laughing. "Well, Artemis, I believe you finally found a suita-" She stopped when she saw the look Artemis was giving her, though it wasn't the most effective when her face was bright red. Athena shook her head as Apollo took up her spot, him lacking much actual fear of Artemis. "Oh, I always thought you'd wear the pants in your relationships, Arty! Hahaha- ow my stomach! Oh, I can't breathe! Ha!"

Artemis shot him in the shin with her bow before she said the first words since the meeting began. "They were JUST cooking lessons!" She didn't look very convincing, which Athena capitalized on, always wnating to be the smartass. "Well, did Perseus teach you how to bake too? Because it looked like he'd tried to put a "bun" in your "oven", Artemis." The other Olympians were laughing too much to care that they just revealed his identity in front of his previous friends.

As they continued laughing, everyone else looked at Perseus in shock. He just sighed, thinking, _'Great. Fan-fucking-tastic.'_ With show of power, he said, "Enough." with enough force to make the hunters stop trying, for the umpteenth time, to kill him with their eyes. Looking at Athena, he said, "Good job, smart-ass." as he gestured to his friends.

She looked somewhat embarrassed at her slip up, but there was nothing she could do except defend her ruined pride. "Well, I thought it was pretty obvious. Son of Poseidon, has the trust of Artemis, able to walk among the hunters without getting killed." Her halfhearted attempt at defending herself was shut down by Poseidon. "Shut up, wise-ass. You already messed up; don't make it worse." The glaring that went on between the two was ignored as Annabeth asked a question, her voice barely a whisper but it clearly rang out in the room. "Percy?"

He nodded, his eyes slightly hard as he looked at her. His mask flowed into his muscle shirt, before that just flowed back into the sleeves they originally were and exposing his chest, to Aphrodite's joy. "The one and only. And I'll be taking my vacation right about now, Artemis." With that, he walked towards the shadow Artemis' throne made, intent on vacating the area.

* * *

A/N: And that's a wrap! So, I wanna, once more, thank all of you guys for your support. Every time I see a review come in for this story, my cold, black heart gains a little color. Just kidding, but for reals, the more I hear you guys enjoy this story, the more I feel like I should update. Now, there's gonna be a deviation from the current path of the story next chapter, if only so this story can stay on track. I feel like I've stayed a bit too long on one side for a story called "Neutrality". Oh, and if anyone has a suggestion for a better name, I'm all ears. The description is about accurate, so try for that. The story is just gaining steam, so give it a chance. Have a great day, good(?) people of the internet. Oh, and here's that link: /s/10784432/1/Purgatory


	3. A Quick Vacation Before A Shit-Storm

A/N: Hey! I'm back with some more of my story today! Before we begin again, I was wondering if I should post more often with shorter chapter lengths, or stick with the longer chapter. Tell me what you guys think. Oh, and I'm not sure if I wanna do review responses or not. I've been getting some interesting reviews as of late, but I'm not sure if I wanna put the responses in the chapter, or just keep them to myself. Ideas? Also, sorry for the delay on the update, but this is actually a side story, AND I've been creating a monster chapter for another story(though this is a monster chapter in its own right), as it's currently at a pretty big point in the plot that I don't wanna split up... AND I just had final exams. Yeah, things were a bit hectic for those.

Now, the second half of this chapter is a bit of a review for the whole series up until know, as well as introducing the new Percy to the camp, so I'll note where that is, and you can skip it if you want. Just letting you know, it's a bit long(that's what she said) and it could get boring. You could skip to the end of the chapter and it'd still make sense, for the most part.

Also, I kinda rewrote this chapter a few time, since I didn't really like how it came out each of the other times. I'm still not 100% satisfied with it, but I feel like I've held off on posting for too longs, so please don't judge me too harshly. I might redo this chapter later on; who knows? Regardless, on with the story.

* * *

As he sunk into the shadow of Artemis' throne, he locked eyes with Annabeth. He smirked at her, and his body stayed completely relaxed, so people thought he held nothing against her when they saw it, but she knew better. His eyes, not just his irides(correct plural of iris, for those who don't know), turned a pure, deep red, a black dot in the middle. It only flashed for a moment, so no one else saw it, but it happened. Her legs were shaking by the time he fully immersed himself in the shadow.

He then appeared behind Nico, putting him in a headlock. "Don't think I didn't know you caused this, Di Angelo." As he sank back into the shadows, Nico struggling and thrashing, the Olympians began to grill Artemis on what was going on between them. As she dutifully ignored or skillfully deflected every question thrown at her, she could only think, _'YOU ARE DEAD, DI ANGELO!'_ as she resigned herself to her suffering.

She was broken out of said suffering as Nico came flying through a shadow, bruises all over his body, seen and unseen. As he groaned, he put up a thumbs up. "Totally... Worth i-AGH!" He was cut off as Percy reappeared for a bit, stomping on his chest with a considerable amount of force. "No it wasn't." With that, he disappeared, this time in a flash of light, shocking the people present, sans Thalia and Zoe.

* * *

Appearing back in Tartarus, he was met with the laughter of... just about every other immortal he knew outside of the gods. As Ouranos, barely able to stand from laughing, stumbled over to Percy, he noticed a TV made of what could best be described as antimatter. Before Ouranos could say anything, Percy sucker punched him, though it did nothing to suppress his laughter. "Oh, FUCK you guys!" This just drew attention to him, making the laughter increase in strength. Percy sighed and slumped against a wall in the room he appeared in, waiting for them to calm down.

Over an hour later, they were calming down, and Percy was gaping. "1 hour, 5 minute, and 32 seconds. This may be a fucking record." Khaos, the most coherent out of them all, managed to answer him. "S-sorry, Pe-Percy, but, oh wait, you prefer Purge don't you?" She broke back down into guffaws at that, unable to hold it in. Percy sighed, making water appear above all those present, shocking them out of their laughter induced trance. Pontus and Thalassa weren't there at the moment, so it was 100% effective.

When the sputtering finally ended, Percy asked, "Better?" They nearly burst out laughing again, but he held what could only be described as an ocean above their heads threateningly. This time he asked more forcefully. "Better?" They nodded, not wanting to be drowned by him.

When the water disappeared, Eros appeared next to Percy, arm slung around his shoulder. "I kinda figured you'd go after a virgin goddess, but ARTEMIS? And you succeeded!? Bro..." At this, he began to boy down in respect, making Percy roll his eyes. "You may as well take MY title, man. I couldn't find a SPECK of love in her cold ass heart beyond sisterly love for her hunters. She already knew you, had an image of you cemented in her stubborn as all Tartarus mind, and you still managed to make something out of it." His praise made Percy's eyes twitch.

Just as he was getting on his knees, Percy kicked him in the face. "I did not!" He calmed himself, knowing that getting flustered in front of them would only bring them further satisfaction. "There was nothing there; don't try to make something out of it." Eros, appearing next to him in a poof of purple smoke, laughed at him, making the others smirk as they made small talk, all still listening intently to their conversation. "Dude, this is my domain. Literally. You can't tell me there was nothing when part of me APPEARED there!"

Percy sighed, having found a logical explanation for this when he sensed it as well, having Eros' blessing to give him the ability. "She was in her 18 year old form and I have your blessing, naturally making me more... attractive. All that happened is that I inspired a bit of lust in her." Eros got a twinkle in his eye at that, but he was cut off by Percy. "Yes, I know even THAT much is it's own feat, but I'm not taking advantage of that. The hunters already probably want my head; I don't need them to go through the trouble of hunting me down in their "righteous" femi-Nazi fury."

Eros shrugged, not really believing him, but Tartarus came up behind him to take a shot. "So, you WOULD, if not for the hunters?" Percy dutifully ignored his prodding as he exited the room, the deities going back to watching the scenes on replay. As he was about to leave, he turned around and, after taking 30 seconds to concentrate, made a miniature black hole appear on top of the TV. He then turned around to leave, feeling oddly satisfied if not drained as all hell, even though he knew Khaos could just make another.

Walking through the halls of Tartarus' place in, well, Tartarus, he made his way to the entrance to the arena, which was just a branch off of the palace. He walked in and found the Minotaur fighting Orion's spirit. "Well, well. He's not doing half bad." He walked up to a railing as the Minotaur almost cleaved Orion in two, leaning on it and smirked in a slightly sadistic manner. When he was finally defeated, and subsequently bisected, he felt two arms wrap around his torso. "I've been so lonely down here without you, "Lord" Percy."

He sighed before appearing on the other side of her in a flash of light. "Hello, Kelli(A/N: The empousa from cannon with a few cosmetic changes.)." He'd long since given up on trying to make her stop calling him "Lord", so he just accepted it. "What do you want, Kelli?" She pouted slightly, purposely trying to make herself look as desirable as possible at the same time. Her flame like hare returned to black, her pale skin became a light brown, and her mismatched legs seemed to disappear. "Can't we just talk? Or do you want something more?"

Percy shook his head, declining her "subtle" offer. He turned to walk away, but that just made her smirk. "Well, I do!" She jumped on his back, making him stumble forward. With the distraction, she wrapped her legs around his core, securing herself in place as she sank her fangs in his neck. She moaned at the sheer pleasure she got from his life essence as he hissed slightly at the piercing of his skin. _'Oh GODS, he tastes amazing! Super-demigod is still the best flavor EVER!'_ She happily drank away, not really caring about who saw in her current state.

Sighing, he walked back through the door he came in, reentering Tartarus' palace with the key he had. He walked to the huge room they called the game room, Kelli still firmly attached to his back, and sat on the floor, and turned on the newest system, the PS12. Looking at the titles he had available for download, he raised a brow at the most recent one. "Gears of Halo: Modern Black OPS 2, featuring Nazi Zombies... I-...I must play this." Conjuring up a glass of pure saltwater, as he felt that Kelli was taking a bit much out of him, he got down to it.

5 hours and 20 glasses of saltwater later, he was done the campaign and REALLY needed to pee. "Kelli, I think you've had enough for today." A muffled "Nuh-Uh!" was his answer, so he reached a hand back, focused on Eros' power, and gave her one last chance. "I'll do it, Kelli." She looked up defiantly, prepared to hold on through what was to come. He grabbed her ass, making her eyes widen as her mouth went slack on his neck and she let go, falling to the ground in a convulsing heap, an occasional moan coming through.

Percy stood over her for a moment before smirking. "I won't give you the same amount when you become used to a level." He then turned around and left to go to the bathroom, draining himself with a relieved sigh. While he was doing so, Kelli recovered and burst into the bathroom. "Cheater!" He finished zipping up, to her disappointment, and said, "I can do it again, you know." She looked at him oddly, not sure whether or not she wanted another. As she decided, he disappeared in a flash of light, making her cry out in shock as it blinded her slightly. When she cleared her eyes, he was gone, and she could only say, "Ass." as she left, looking for something else she could do WITHOUT Tartarus kicking her out of his palace.

* * *

1(Overworld) Week Later (So 4 in Tartarus)

* * *

Appearing in a tree overlooking the hunters' current camp, Percy looked down to see Zoe turning a target into a porcupine. Smiling slightly, his mask and shirt gone at the moment, he watched, enjoying the show but hiding his presence by bending the light around his so no one would see him. Eventually, when she started splitting her arrows down the middle with the expert aim she'd honed over centuries, he disappeared in a swirl of water, the droplets falling on a stone alerting Zoe to the fact that SOMETHING was where he once was. It'd recently rained, though, so she brushed it off.

He then appeared in a tree directly above Artemis, who looked up, having felt the arrival of someone as strong as him. She couldn't see him, but could tell he was there."'Sup, Arty." She nodded at him. "Perseus. I see your back from your vacation." He nodded as his muscles tensed, somewhat prepared for an arrow to be headed at his face at any moment. "Good. I had to go check on something with Selene and Achelois, so I was gonna drop the hunters off at camp, but you're watching them." Percy knew he was in no position to complain about any of her choices for a while after he left her with the Olympians, so he just took it.

She disappeared in a flash of light, doing the godly teleportation thing like she did, going who knows where. Percy was content with them not knowing he was watching them, so he sat in his tree, the light still bent around him to hide his presence as he also began to suppress his divine presence in case Nico showed up.

An hour or so later, there was a rustling in the branches behind Percy, waking him from his nap. He had't even noticed when he fell asleep, but thankfully, he was good enough at his light powers that he could literally do them in his sleep. Stretching, he sensed for bodies of water(somewhat literally) in the vicinity of the camp, trying to make sure there was nothing that surrounded the camp during his nap.

His eyes widened as he felt hundreds of beings around the camp. Pulling away the veil of light around him, he covered his upper body in his "clothing" as he jumped into the center of the camp. "HUNTERS! GET OVER HERE NOW!" They rushed over to him to see what the panic was until they noticed who it was and they all pulled their bows at him. "Don't point those at me, turn around and let them fly! We're FUCKING SURROUNDED!" Just as he said that, a couple hell hounds came out of the forest, bounding towards them. A wave of arrows finished off most of them, but two still made it through. Thalia finished them both with lightning.

As they lowered their bows, Percy shouted. "Those of you who wish to retreat now, do so before I end you!" He retracted his shirt and pulled out his wings, which the substance crawled up in response. _'Um, Percy! This is a LOT of monsters...'_ As he lifted off the ground, he responded to Captain Obvious, aka Purge. _'I know that!'_

He began to radiate a rainbow of energies, making the ground shake slightly for good measure. about 40% of the monsters either recognized his power, his voice, or both and chose to cut their losses. The rest thought they could win, and held their ground, coming out of the wood work, armed to the teeth.

A couple of dracanae slithered up front, Queen Sess heading them. "Our Lord will reward usss handssomely for killing the huntersss. You needn't be a cassualty, Lord Persseuss." He shook his head. "Sorry, it's my job to protect these girls, Sess. Would it be possible for you all to just retreat?" At the shake of her head, he sighed. "Sorry about this then."

A bright white light flashed for a moment, and he was gone. He appeared a fraction of a second later, panting heavily and falling to the ground. As he hit, everyone noticed the distinct lack of monsters, sans the dracanea and a few monsters in the very back, forming a loose ring around the hunters camp. "F-fuck... I missed," panted Percy as he rose to a knee again, his general body feeling like shit at that moment. Getting up on shaky legs, only to fall back to his knees, he mumbled, "Probably shouldn't have done that." Unfortunately, there were still around 120 archers and about as many spearmen, so Queen Sess had them fire at will, raining arrows, and the occasional spears down on the hunters.

Percy, body and mind hurting from pushing his powers so far, was barely able to create a dome of ice hard enough above them to shield the hunters in time. As it was beginning to crack, Percy regained the ability to move his wings WITHOUT them making him wanna cut them off, so he prepared to do the stupidest thing he'd done in years.

Flexing his wings and wincing slightly, he prepared to go near the speed of sound, which was probably overworking himself in his current state. Taking off a second before he felt the ice dome about to crack, he began to circle the hunters at high speeds, deflecting arrows... and the occasional spear. Around 15 got through his defense, making him lose a little more focus each time he went around. With each arrow that got by him, he sent a gust of wind to try and throw it off the path it was on, a crash course with the hunters, who were huddled together under the center of his orbit, trying to resist the wind he was throwing their way with each excessively powerful flap of his wings. He wasn't able to take the time to check how successful he was, but the lack of death-screams/grunts/moans from below him gave him hope.

One of the spears managed to make it past him at that point, thankfully it was the last of the spears but he missed it. Unfortunately, his pain, fatigue, and power-maintaining addled mind preventing him from noticing until a bit later than usual and making him unable to send a strong enough gust of wind to compensate for the delay.

Cursing to himself, he pushed himself to create a shell of water from the water within himself, blocking the arrows for as long as he could hold it, which wasn't very long, and flew at the spear, intending to catch it. He was still moving at high speed, so he missed it. Determined to do his job, he reoriented his body mid-flight.

Thalia's shout of "PERCY!" was able to be heard over the sonic boom that occurred as a result of his mad dash. As he landed, a surge of serious adrenaline kicked in, making him able to maintain the dome for a while longer,...even with a spear through his abdomen.

Retracting his wings, he pulled his clothes back on him, making it a shirt again. It grabbed onto the shaft of the spear, shattering it before ejecting the piece that was still in him, not a splinter left inside his body. He focused on the water he had suspended above them, his already waning rush barely sustaining him. With a roar of power from Percy, needles of sharpened water flew out, stabbing the monsters in various places, even Queen Sess and her small band of dracanae. When the barrage was over, there wasn't a monster left standing, or living for that matter.

As the clearing quieted down, Percy drew the water around him, letting himself soak in it. "Aaaahh." His satisfied sigh broke through the hunters' small trance of awe, making them tend to their own, ignoring him. None of them were quite healers, though, so they could do nothing past bandaging and cleaning wounds, basic things. As Percy stumbled out of his now puddle, his body having reabsorbed his own water, he assessed the hunters as best he could.

Zoe rushed over to him, gesturing towards something. "Thou art heavily need over yonder, Perseus." The only time Zoe got really medieval was when something was seriously worrying her. He winced as he sighed, the hole in his stomach only beginning to heal and the living shadow clothes he was wearing barely helping. Stumbling over to where most of the hunters had gathered at that point, he saw that one of them lay on the ground, an arrow sticking out of what Perseus assumed was a lung and another in her stomach.

"Fuck." he mumbled getting the attention of the hunters. They were about to send him away, not wanting his help even with one of them at their death bed, when he cut them off, asking them a question. "She's a daughter of Poseidon, yeah?" A few stiff nods and hard stares was his response.

Taking the information, he pulled water from the air, making him lose most of whatever energy he manage to regain in the time he had to recuperate. Focusing as best he could through the fatigue, he encapsulated her, making some of the hunters yell at him as if he was a dumb ass, thinking he'd drown her before she died from her wounds. He was in no shape to dodge the tackle from one of the hunters that began to beat on him. "First, you seduce out mistress, and NOW you try to kill my best friend after failing your job! I hate you!" She repeated the last part until a cough caught their attention.

Percy had just ignored all signals his body was sending him at that point, knowing they were probably going to be pain anyway, so when she began beating on him, he was prepared. All through it, he was focusing on his actual domain of mortality, making sure she didn't die while speeding up her healing as best he could with his power over water. After a bit, she was able to breathe on her own, and a minute or two more in the water, she managed to walk, him having willed the water to extract the arrows a while back.

The girl who was beating in him hastily got up and embraced her friend, crying a bit. As the hunters enjoyed their moment, Percy dragged himself to his feet and shuffled away into the woods as stealthily as he could, making his way to the nearest water source. The hunters were too busy checking on the girl who almost died to notice.

* * *

The next day, Artemis came back into the camp, looking around to find Perseus. Finding Thalia, she asked her about it. The response she got didn't please her. "Well, we don't know. He kind of just disappeared after what happened yesterday." She then went on to explain what happened, Artemis getting rather worried when she heard about the spear through his stomach.

Gathering the hunters, she asked if any of them knew where he was, though none of them could really come up with an answer. She then noticed a light trail of dried blood, or what she thought was blood, as it was dirty red with flecks of gold and silver, lead towards the woods.

Dashing in that direction, she made her way to the forest, but Percy was walking out at that exact moment, nearly colliding with her. She jumped back in shock, not expecting him to pop out of the foliage in such a manner. He was back with his "clothes" on, black, skin tight material running from his midsection to his face. "Hey. Just got back from taking a bath. Need something?" She stared at him hard, before asking, "What happened yesterday, Perseus?"

He shrugged before he recounted yesterday's events, omitting the part about him getting impaled. "Anything ELSE you forgot to mention?" He shook his head, keeping up a facade that would've worked on anyone who didn't know he was lying already. "Okay, then take off your shirt." Apollo, who appeared moments earlier to taunt his sister because he was bored, just left, snickering to himself at the line she just said. He didn't need to operate the sun at that moment since it was cloudy, lessening his work, so he planned on returning later, if only to harass his sister.

He hesitated a moment, knowing he was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Getting a suggestion from the ever watching Purge, he tried it. "Uh, your hunters are here, Arty. If you wanna see so badly, come alone." He tried to walk by her, but Artemis grabbed him by the shoulder, spun him around, and nailed him in the stomach. Some blood sprayed from his mouth, though it was currently blocked by the face mask part of his clothes. "I'm no idiot, Perseus. Show me the wound. Now."

He smirked under the mask, a bit of blood going down his face. Rising from the knee he fell to, he responded, "Fine." He retracted his shadow clothes until it was right above his abdominal area. It then quickly sped past the last part, showing a hole in him, and the blood dripping from his mouth. He had some water covering it, both to stop the bleeding and to help it heal. It wasn't all the way through him anymore, nor was it bleeding as profusely, but it was still there.

Artemis gasped as she saw the wound, as did many of the hunters, not having had a chance to see it previously. Their gaze slowly moved up until they also saw that he had a healing bruise on his cheek and some scratches and bruises on his chest, courtesy of the grief stricken hunter from before. "P-Perseus..." He chuckled lightly before suddenly exclaiming, "Could you PLEASE just call me Percy!?" Looking at the hunters, he asked, "I assume you know just WHO I am, yeah?"

He got a hard look from Artemis, one that told him it wasn't the time for jokes. "Fine, fine. But, in all honesty, I'm fine, Artemis." She ignored him and pointed at the marks on his chest. "What are these from?" He sweat a bit under her intense gaze, glancing at the hunter who was squirming in place right then. "Oh, uh, those are, ah..." He was saved the explanation as the hunter who did it came up and explained.

When she was finished, she turned to Percy and said, "Forgive me, Lord Perseus." Despite this shocking everyone, Percy just smiled. "Please, Percy is fine." He then took a moment to focus on healing for a while, his sense having been stretched out to the limit just about all night to monitor the camp as closely as possible, even while he was healing himself, which slowed it down considerably. He even tapped into his domain of mortality to help with the process. Before their eyes, muscle stitched itself together and skin regrew, replacing the area he damaged with not a single mark. The water then moved to the other marks on his body, healing them rather quickly.

Once he was done, he returned his clothes to his form and the water to the air. "You girls have gotten a free show long enough." And with that, he walked away, a slight stumble in his step. They noticed that he was dragging his feet right before he collapsed face first into the ground, snoring lightly but noticeably. Thalia shook her head at him, as did Zoe. "He probably didn't even sleep last night, patrolling just in case more monsters were around. Dumb ass." Thalia's final words summed up Artemis' thoughts on him at the moment, except for one part. _'But I owe this dumb ass.'_

Percy shot up off the ground at that moment. "Antarctic Circumpolar Current!" Looking around, he noted where he was before getting up, dusting himself off. "Sorry. I was just dropped into a pop quiz on oceanology, and I just..." At their faces, he sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, you don't care. I do have something important to say, though. Two, actually. First, I'm taking a fucking nap when I am done speaking. Two, Queen Sess is back, and is serving a new master... despite being a queen. I don't know who, but you should inform the Olympians that some monsters are rallying under another banner, this time it isn't the Titan's or the Protogenoi." He then climbed into a tree and dozed off, leaving a horrified Artemis. _'This won't go well.'_

Artemis left Zoe in charge at that moment, as Thalia was gonna try and wake Percy to annoy him, to no avail due to the magic headphones he put on beforehand. She went to her father and told him of an emergency that required the council's attention, making him shoot a lightning bolt into the sky, a red one reminiscent of a flare to gather the others. It was magic, so even Hades saw it in his subterranean abode.

Moments later, they all appeared in their thrones, all with serious faces, even Aphrodite. Well, as serious as you could look when you're as dolled up as she was at that moment. Hades was the first to speak. "What do you need, brother?" Zeus, growled at the lack of respect, but let it slide, as what Artemis wished to inform them of may have been of more importance. "I wish nothing of you, but Artemis wishes to inform us of something that seems to be of enough importance to warrant an unscheduled meeting." He gestured for her to speak, making all eyes turn to her.

Clearing her throat, she began. "My hunters were apparently attacked by ANOTHER hoard of monster last night when I was meeting with Selene. Perseus defended them , but got injured in the process, though he healed himself this morning. He brought something different about this attack to my attention: they were attacking under the will of someone else. Perseus has confirmed that it wasn't a Titan nor one of the Primordials, but he is unaware of the actual culprit.

"This may not be the most informative, but this is just a warning to all of you: watch out. Things are stirring, and we are in the dark aside from knowing that SOMETHING is coming. But it feels like something big." When she was done, it was dead silent before they erupted into arguments of what to do. Ares wished to hunt down ALL the monsters they could and thin out their numbers. A number of them wished to wait and see what would happen. Athena thought they should start planning immediately, a she would, despite the knowledge they have to work with. One of those who weren't shouting was Hestia, but she was beginning to get tired of their crap.

Making the hearth glow a brilliant white to grab their attention, she sighed. "Thank you. I believe we should bring Perseus here to verify and complete your story, Artemis." She nodded, flashing away. Reappearing with him a minute or two later, she nudged him before gesturing to the council, which was waiting for him to begin. As Artemis regrew to her full height and the hunters seated themselves around her throne, he sighed and began. "Well..."

A full recount of what had occurred, sans the explanation on his powers, later, the Olympians were surprised that he managed to protect all of them. Zeus, in an act completely out of character for him, bowed his head in appreciation. "Thank you, Perseus. I know how much they mean to my daughter. You were definitely the right choice." Everyone was stunned silent by the sincerity in his voice, but Percy just nodded. "Just doin' my job. Don't mention it." With that, he returned to silence, contemplating who would have enough monster backing to lead them in the stead of someone like Kronos.

The Olympians began trading ideas and discussing who they thought it was, but made no progress, as Perseus' assertion that it wasn't one of the ones they'd assume limited their options. They'd just beat the giants, so they were out right now, Kronos and the Titans were holding off, and the Primordials had no interest in ruling, for the most part. Then it hit Percy, making face palm from his stupidity.

Stomping his foot and causing a tremor to travel through the council, he got the attention of the Olympians. "I think I know who it is..." He was silent a moment before continuing. "The Monster King, Typhon. Either that, or someone even stronger has usurped his position. He, or at least his position, has divine authority over monsters that supersedes both mine and Tartarus', so it makes sense." Athena was the first to agree with him, breaking out of her thinking trance. "If that's so, we must begin to plan immediately."

Percy thought for a moment before asking a question that sounded a bit odd. "Are the hunters going to be participating in this fight?" Artemis vehemently shook her head. "Of course not! As much faith as I put in their skill, they are still just demigods." Percy nodded. "Okay then, as I thought. Unfortunately for you, my job is only to protect them, so I'll be sitting this one out." The council exlpoded into protests and demands, but Percy was having none of it.

Making a veritable earthquake run through the room this time, he quieted the outraged Olympians before addressing their concerns. "You seem to forget that the only reason I am here is to do my job. Past that, I'd only show up to visit a friend or two, and that number has dropped rather drastically considering how easily almost EVERYONE bought your lie without even considering that I fought TWO wars for them, almost dying multiple times for their disloyal asses. I denied Kronos' offers to spare me, my family, and some of my friends, which he swore he'd do on the river styx, just to fight for the rest of them. I swam in said river to gain the power to protect them, risking not just my life, but the existence of my soul! I outright told YOU that you weren't doing a good job as parents, in front of them, risking my ass when I was barely able to beat Kronos at that power, in front of the top twelve strongest, most emotion driven gods, just to give them a better life! I resisted Gaea's offers of amnesty time and again, and yes, I got a FUCK TON OF THOSE! I jumped into HELL, THREW MY GIRLFRIEND BACK, AND FOUGHT MY WAY THROUGH THE HOME OF MONSTERS TO CLOSE YOUR STUPID DOOR! Do you have ANY IDEA how much I've gone through for not only you, but for the sake of ALL of those FUCKERS!?" Percy had been radiating power halfway through his tirade, and at that point, he was making even Zeus cower. Despite their fear, they felt a sting from the truth in his words. Not one of them could hold any of his current anger against him.

The air around him seemed to burn with his rage, but not a flame started. Instead, it merely began to glow an EXTREMELY bright red. Abruptly, it shut off, Percy getting a hold of himself. "Sorry about that; it wasn't very professional." Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Had to get that out, but I don't change my mind. If I go through all that, and they can still believe I would turn against them from a few words from you guys, they don't deserve my help. You need me, you hire me. If they, the monsters, figure that out too and bring more to the table, well, you're fucked. Until then, I'll just do my duty as a guardian. Hopefully, you know it won't be cheap to make me fight for them again." With his part said, he turned to Artemis, his face blank. "I'll be waiting at camp. I don't recommend you bother me unless it's important."

As he was about to leave in a fashion of his choosing, he turned to Zeus. "I sincerely hope the demigods weren't informed of me, because that's one of my terms of service, Zeus." Just as he was about to get a response, he held up a hand, not trusting a word from any of them at that moment in time. "Don't tell me; I'll find out eventually." Satisfied he'd made his stance on helping them clear, he disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

1 Week Later

* * *

The hunters were walking up half-blood hill, Artemis leading them and Percy trailing behind. As they entered camp, they were greeted by some of Perseus' old friends, much to his confusion, with the cabin's behind them. Annabeth, who was standing in front of what seemed to be Athena's children, spoke, making Percy's eye twitch at her voice. "Good afternoon, Lady Artemis." Piper, who was standing in front of the Aphrodite cabin, took over. "Apologies, but we were unaware that you were going to arrive today. You're cabin is prepared as always, though, milady. Unfortunately, Chiron is also out until this afternoon." Artemis nodded. "Don't worry about such minor things. The hunters will be staying until further notice, and the other Olympians will be arriving by dinner for an... update."

Murmurs began to go through the crowd of demigods until one spoke up, though not about the update, as they all knew they'd find out when the gods wanted them to. It was the demigod son of Poseidon that Percy noticed before. He spoke with a rather cocky air, but his voice betrayed none of that. "Uh, if you don't mind indulging my curiosity for a bit, Lady Artemis, I have two questions that I'd like to ask." Percy was impressed with how eloquent the boy spoke, but he didn't trust him. Not one bit.

Artemis seemed to be used to it, though, as she just gave him a disdainful looked before gesturing for him to go ahead. "Well, I would just like to inquire about the guy you have travelling among your hunters. Have you finally...?" Artemis blinked for a moment as the question registered with her, but as she blushed lightly and prepared to turn the boy into a porcupine, Percy's laughter cut through the tension that settled after the question.

Everyone's eyes turned to him as he tried to keep it down. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that, well, you aren't the first person I know to think that, but you're definitely the first person to brazenly ask her that... in front of a crowd, at that! You're already good by me." The boy smiled lightly, already getting on the famous Percy Jackson's good side. He then looked back to Artemis to ask another question when he noticed the death stare she was alternating between giving to Percy and him.

After a moment, she relented. "No, he is merely the chosen guardian of my hunters. We have no relation besides that." Percy walked up to the front of the group at that, an unseen smirk behind his mask as he slung an arm around Artemis(A/N: Damn, that alliteration.) "Oh, I don't know about that, Arty! Weren't YOU the one who wanted me to take o-" He was silenced quickly when Artemis' elbow impacted with his abdomen, HARD, sending him to one knee. "Totally worth it." was the first thing that came out of his mouth a moment later, much to Artemis' displeasure.

She showed displeasure by kicking him while he was down... literally. She kicked him in the side, ignoring him amused chuckles as he got back up a few feet away from her. She looked back at the demigods, who were trying rather hard to hold back their laughter, and they were rather successful with the threat of being turned into a jackalope being their motivation to keep it in. Blushing lightly with a vein just about to pop on her forehead, Artemis corrected herself. "Okay, maybe we're friends."

Percy chuckled, wishing to push it a little farther. "Oh no, have I been officially friend-zoned!" The Aphrodite cabin gasped in actual shock, the thought of being friend-zoned an actual crisis to them, not a joke. For the rest of the demigods, this was enough to set them off. Everyone, sans the cabin leaders, was just about on the floor laughing, some of them leaning on each other for support while others didn't even bother.

Artemis turned to give Percy a scathing look as he smiled, satisfied with himself. He didn't even notice her approach him until she was right behind him, his shoulder in an iron grip. She became her 18 year old form for a moment, just so she could whisper something in his ear. "You. Are. DEAD." He shivered at that, but maintained his composure. "Sure I am, Arty." In his head, Plague laughed at him. _"Still worth it, Percy? Hahaha!"_ He responded with complete seriousness. _"Completely."_

Back with the demigods, seeing Artemis become older to talk to him made them think there was SOMETHING to Percy's words, but they didn't have a chance to speculate among themselves as the goddess went back to being twelve and stormed over to her hunters, her eyes glowing a dangerous silver. They shut up real quick when they saw her in such a state.

Artemis composed herself in front of the group once more and looked to the sun of Poseidon. "Okay, ask your other question, boy." He smirked. "Well, I WAS gonna ask if you wanted to grab lunch sometime, but if you're already taken... I'll just ask something else." Artemis' eye twitched violently as she struggled to not smite the boy where he stood.

Instead, she just stiffly gestured for him to continue. "Well, I was wondering if you wished to have our usual hunters vs. campers Capture the Flag game? It's been a while." Artemis took this as something to get her mind off of how angry she was at that moment and looked at her hunters. Their numbers had increased to around 20, but they were still minuscule compared to the amount of campers there were at that point.

She glanced at Purge, an idea forming in her head. Smirking, she looked at the boy again. "Well, yes, I do want to face off against you campers, but I'll let you choose who you fight. " Murmurs went across the group of demigods at that, but Artemis continued. "Me and my hunters." The demigods looked worried at that, but she continued on, unperturbed. "Purge and my hunters." They all looked at the newly identified Purge, the name already enough to make them worry slightly, but they had no clue of how strong he was. "Or... me and Purge." At the last one, she looked at Percy with deadly eyes, conveying her intention. He put his face in his hands at the look he got. A grumbled "Oh, fuck." was heard from him as Artemis smiled at him menacingly.

Regaining her blank face, though she couldn't suppress a smirk, she looked at the demigods. "Pick your poison." They looked at each other, discussing among themselves as they tried to convince others of what the best course of action was. In the end, the choice was left up to the Athena cabin.

After a minute or two more of internal deliberation, Annabeth stepped forward, not looking too happy at that moment. "We choose to face you and Purge, milady." A loud "FUCK!" was heard from Percy's direction, but it was ignored in favor of the smile that came across Artemis' face. It was the most scary, yet oddly hot, mixture of "Oh, hell yes." "This'll be fun." and "Prepare yourself.", though they were sure the last part was more directed at Percy than them.

As Artemis got her smile back under control, she looked at Annabeth in a bit of disdain before hiding it under her mask once more. "Would you explain your choice?" Though it was a question, it was spoken like a command.

She nodded before beginning. "Of course, Lady Artemis. Simply put, we don't know if Purge's abilities are able to compensate for the lacking number of your group, nor if he would be able to take on all of our attacking or defending force alone. Also, this means that one of you has to guard the flag while the other attacks, limiting your forces to one on each side." Artemis kept a blank face at that. "Are you sure this is what you want? I will not allow you to change your answer." Annabeth looked back at the cabin, getting approving nods before turning back to Artemis and answering positively.

Artemis' face couldn't suppress the light smirk as she shook her head in an amused manner. "Well, I'll let you in on a secret, then." Her smirk widened as she saw the daughter of Athena's brow furrow. She gestured for Annabeth to come forward, which she did a bit hesitantly.

Bending over to the height of the 12 year old that was her superior, he eyes widened when they heard what was whispered. "Purge is actually A LOT stronger than me, when he tries. Stronger AND faster, not to mention he can fly." Annabeth stumbled backwards at that. "H-how!? No one is that strong!"

Artemis looked at Percy a moment, using the mental communication immortals could do to tell him something. _"_ _You can show off a bit, you know. Maybe scare them, put 'em on edge. You'll need the advantage after the beating you're gonna get."_ Percy rolled his eyes, but complied anyway.

Appearing behind Annabeth in a blur, he took this opportunity to get a bit of revenge. She hadn't noticed him yet, so he put his mouth right next to her ear and whispered scathingly, "Well, I AM... wise-girl." He then disappeared from view again, appearing in a tree behind the hunters as they snickered at the shocked look on the campers faces.

Annabeth, on the other hand, was anything but amused. "I-I'm sorry, Perc-" He appeared in front of her again, his hand clamped over her mouth while the other waved a finger in her face. His eyes glinted a dangerous red for a moment, though she was the only one to see it. "Ah, ah, aah. None of that now, Anna. You know that's a secret, and besides... I don't think you're even worthy of SAYING that name anymore. So, as far as you're concerned, or anyone else here, for that matter, I'm just Purge, or Purgatory if you're being formal... Until further notice." With that, he removed his hand and went back to his tree in a flash of light, making all the demigods yelp, thinking he was revealing a true form of sorts, but he was just moving by using his light powers.

Piper looked at Annabeth, who had some tears streaming down her face, with a bit of approval. _'I hope you understand a bit of what it's like to be betrayed now, Anna-bitch.'_ Artemis also smile lightly at the display. "Well, I'd say you're all dismissed, except the cabin councilors. You stay here for something important." The campers bowed and resumed their activities, glancing at the hunters, mainly Purge, warily.

When everyone else dispersed, it was just the councilors of each cabin left, though that was still a good bunch of people. Artemis looked around, verifying that everyone was there,but frown and recounted. "Where are the leaders of the Hypnos and Morpheus cabins?" They looked at one another, noticing that they, in fact, weren't present.

Sighing, the child of Poseidon volunteered to get them. Someone who Percy could only identify as a child of Zeus offered to get one of them, speeding up the process. About thirty second later, they heard sputtering from one cabin off in the distance and a crack of electricity from another followed by a yelp.

When the two returned, they looked satisfied with themselves as they approached, two people behind them. Behind the child of Zeus was an equally blonde teen, though he had almost golden eyes and his hair was standing on end, not just those on his head, but all along his pudgy skin. His shirt looked slightly burnt, likely from the lightning generated to wake him, and he had the occasional twitch. Behind the child of Poseidon trailed a soaked, white haired, equally pudgy teen that was wringing out his shirt sleepily, yawning at that moment.

They both glanced around sleepily. The blonde one was the first to speak. "The hell did I have to get up for?" Before anyone could answer, the white haired one continued. "Yeah, you guys ruined a perfectly good dream." The other councilors chuckled at them before directing the bemused boys' gazes to Artemis. Their eyes widened before they bowed, apologizing profusely.

Artemis, somewhat amused by them, waved them off, despite the looks they got from her hunters. "There's nothing to apologize for. Just make sure to wake up next time; it may be important." They were surprised to be let off so easily, especially as males, but when they saw Percy standing with the hunt, they shrugged, figuring she softened up a bit.

Artemis didn't give them a chance to ask any questions about it, though, as she continued with her original intention. "Now, the hunters will be staying here until further notice, so I just wished to make all councilors aware of this, as Chiron isn't here at the moment." The groans of her hunters were ignored as she continued on. "I also wished to introduce you to their guardian while I am not here. He is to be treated with the same respect you give me, as he's been chosen specifically by the Olympians for his abilities. Guardian, introduce yourself."

Percy stepped up, looking around the group, giving all of them a good look at his multicolored eyes and covered face, unnerving them slightly, much to his amusement. "I am the current guardian of the hunt, Purgatory, though you may just refer to me as Purge. No, it's not my real name. No, I won't tell you my real name. Yes, you'll probably find out anyway. Any questions?" Both the child of Zeus and Poseidon's hands shot up. "Can we spar?" The synchronization with which they said it was creepy, but everyone seemed to be used to it, as they didn't even glance at the two, some of them even rolling their eyes.

Percy chuckled before nodding. "Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you two." They were slightly insulted, but before they could say anything on it, Artemis cleared her throat. "Purge here doesn't know all of you, so if you'd all just introduce yourselves, that'd be great."

The son of Zeus stepped forward. "I'm Perseus Myers, son of Zeus. I know it's been a pleasure for you to make my acquaintance." Percy snickered lightly at that. "Perseus, eh? Not a bad name you got there. Good history behind it." Perseus smirked(A/N: From now on, Perseus/Purge will be Percy and the new Perseus will be, well, Perseus.), nodding. "First there was the Perseus of old, then Perseus Jackson, now me. It's been a trend that all of us were really strong, you know.

Percy laughed out loud at that, Piper, Annabeth, Thalia, Zoe, Phoebe, Leo, and everyone else who knew him smirking(A/N: Note, some of them only know his name is Percy from Athena spilling the beans while the rest are in the dark.). "Oh, I know. I DEFINITELY know that much." Perseus was confused, but Percy waved him off. "You'll understand soon enough." He waved for them to continue, which they did with gusto. The child of Poseidon stepped forward next. Just as he was going to speak, he had to pull some of his wild black hair out of his face. "Name's Theodore Athmann, but you can just call me Theo." He grinned at Percy, giving him a salute.

Next up was Clarisse. "I'm, well, you already know me." Percy nodded. "Yeah, long time no see, Clarisse. It's been, what, fifty years? Well, for me, it's actually been over two hundred, but whatever." She smirked at him, surprising the rest of people a bit. "I still have to pay you back for that spear you broke." Percy chuckled before waving her off. "Any time you wanna try me, La Rue. Any time." Next was the Apollo cabin leader, Will Solace. "Sup! Been a while, huh, Perce?" Percy nodded. "Damn right, Sunshine, a lot has changed around here. And a lot has changed with me. We'll catch up later though." Will nodded before stepping back.

Next up was Leo. "Hey, Aqua Lad!" Percy grinned, high-fiving his favorite Latino. "'Sup, Torch!" Up next were Connor and Travis Stoll. In sync, they said, "Heya!" Playfully, Percy reached behind him to check for a wallet, making a show of it. "Good, I haven't been robbed blind yet. Hey Stolls." They shared a laugh at that.

By this point, everyone who WASN'T aware of their past together was thoroughly confused. Before they could comment on it, Percy gestured for the next person to go. Next up was Katie Gardener. She smiled lightly at him. "It's good to see you again, Percy." He nodded at her. "Same. Hope you and Travis been treating each other well~" His eyebrow movements did nothing to help the blush that came over her face, mirrored by Travis (A/N: Yes, some Tratie been happening.)

Everyone looked a bit confused at that, but nothing but gossip would be born from it. Next was the Athena cabin, headed by Annabeth. "Uh, h-hi P-Percy?" He looked at her, amused by the fact she was a bit scared of him. "You have nothing to fear, wise-girl..." Everyone who knew him was shocked at his use of his old nickname for her, even if it came out with a slight hiss, but EVERYONE was chocked when they saw Annabeth flinch back from it. Percy just continued on like nothing happened. "But I would've thought you, if ANYONE else, would've remembered that, until further notice, I was going by Purge." Sighing melodramatically, he looked at her. "Well, I guess THAT got out real quick, huh?"

She noticed that his eyes were pretty much saying "I won't embarrass you in public.", and she nodded thankfully. "Y-yeah. Sorry about." A nervous laugh was the last sound to come from her. Hestia's cabin would've been next, but she had no children or representatives, and the hunters, for Artemis, and Artemis herself, who would've come next, traveled with him, so both were skipped.

Next up was the Aphrodite cabin. Two people stepped up, but Percy raised a hand. "Okay, so I have two theories as to why there are two of you. Either, A- Aphrodite was just that busy, or B- Piper her goes to visit Jason during either the winter or summer so Drew here takes over. Am I right on either? Or am I right on both?" Piper face-palmed at the mention of her mother's libido while Drew just smiled at him sensually.

Drew spoke first instead of Piper. "Well, well, where have YOU been?" Percy gave drew a deadpan look. "Hell." She giggled at that. "Aw, want a kiss to make it better." Percy just rolled his eyes. "Artemis, I need an adult." She looked at him incredulously. "You're, what, 217? 218? Deal with your own problems." Percy sulked at that before responding to Drew. "No, Drew. The fires down there cauterized any wound I got already." Drew licked her lips hungrily. "Oh, scars can be rather hot, and yours DEFINITELY would be, from what you just said. How about you show me?" Percy gave her a look before making an arrow appear out of thin air and cutting his cheek. He focused on his mortality domain and the wound closed up completely in about 30 seconds, much to everyone's amazement. "Still think there's anything to see?"

Drew pouted, but Percy knew she wouldn't be deterred so easily, so he moved on to Piper. "So, how've you and Superman been, Piper?" She beamed at him. "Oh, we've been great! We got married a few decades back! Oh, it still gives me goosebumps thinking about it!" Percy chuckled. "Sorry I missed that. Show me some pictures later." She nodded happily.

Next up was Castor for the Dionysus cabin, who Percy was never all too close with but they were at least acquaintances when he left. "Good to see you again, Pedro." Percy looked at him with an annoyed look that just made the boy chuckle. Castor stopped after a moment. "It was a greeting from my dad; don't worry about it. Been a while, though." Percy shook his head, annoyed but amused, and gestured for the next person.

Before she could speak, Percy noted something. "Oh, well you're new." She nodded. "Yes, at least compared to the others. My name is Xena Lawrence, child of Hades and councilor of the Hades cabin. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Percy nodded with a small bow. "Likewise." Next was the Iris cabin. "Oh, hey Butch." He nodded at Percy, having figured out his identity with how close he was to the other. "Hey. I figured it out, by the way." Percy nodded. "I figured. They weren't exactly subtle hints flying at your face." Butch chuckled, but said nothing more.

Next was the Hypnos cabin leader, Clovis. He knew of the great Percy Jackson, and recently had a few dreams involving him. He seemed to be having on now, because he was sleeping while standing up, no one having noticed until it was his turn. Theodore splashed some water, making everyone else chuckle. As he wiped his face, not enjoying the fact that he was soaked on top of being electrocuted, he began groggily. "Oh, so you're Percy, huh?" He stopped to yawn. "Well, the name's Clovis. Nice to meet you." Percy nodded at the guy. "Same." Next was the white-haired, equally sleepy one. Yawning, he begun. "Name's Clover, leader of the Morpheus cabin. Nice to meet you." With that, the two fell asleep again, this time leaning on one another.

Percy chuckled at them before looking for the next. A brown-haired boy stepped up, bowing lightly. "Ezekiel Thompson, but you can just call me Zeke. Son of Zelus(A/N: the god of dedication, emulation, eager rivalry, envy, jealousy, and zeal), and head of his cabin. Pleasure to meet you." Percy nodded. "Likewise." Next up was a girl with light brown hair and green eyes. Setting herself apart from most other was the piece of wheat she managed to incorporate into her hair. "The name's Alison Clark, daughter of Attis(A/N: A minor god of vegetation, fruits of the earth and rebirth.) and the cabin councilor." Percy nodded at her. "Nice to meet you. Also, nice name; hopefully you're as kind as your name would suggest."

Looking to the next person and ignoring the light blush that came across her face. _'I still got it.'_ The next person to speak had on a four leaf clover chain around her neck and a headband on with the markings of 777 on it in front of her black hair. When she spoke, her voice was energetic, enough to make Percy smile a bit. "Hey, my name's Phylicia Tatum, daughter of Caerus(A/N: Minor god of opportunity, luck and favorable moments.) and councilor of his cabin! Nice to meet you!" Percy chuckled. "Same. You're possibly the happiest person I've ever met." She beamed at him, proud that that was what he observed about her.

And so it went for the next 5-10 minutes, any minor god's child introducing him or herself to Percy, if they existed that is. Many cabins were empty and were just symbolic. Among the empty ones were the cabins for Nike, Hebe, Nemesis, Tyche, and Hecate. Looking the group over, Percy whistled as Artemis commented. "Things have changed since you were last here, right?" Percy nodded, letting it sink in that there were so many cabins now. "Wow, I missed A LOT."

Looking over the group, Percy thought for a moment. _'I don't think I should judge this generation by the actions of their predecessors... but I don't think I can just forgive them like that... Well, I guess they can at least know who I am, but I'm sure as hell not fighting for them based on this.'_ Nodding to himself, he retracted his shirt/mask, to the surprise of everyone and joy of Drew. "I think this current generation deserves a second chance... My full name is Perseus Jackson, Hero of Olympus, slayer of Kronos, yadda, yadda, yadda." At their shocked looks, and slight tensing, he smirked. "I assume you know of me, but don't worry; the gods were lying when they gave the reason for my imprisonment in hell, better known as Tartarus. I didn't ACTUALLY do anything, it was just... necessary, though I am a bit disappointed that you guys believed it so easily." He directed the last part at some of his friends, not sure whether or not they would retain that title.

Artemis looked at him for a moment. "I thought you wanted to keep your identity a secret?" He shrugged. "It was becoming a pain. Besides, now I don't need to wear that dumb shirt anymore." Artemis looked at him with disbelieving eyes for a moment. "Oh, yes you do. I won't have you running around shirtless near my hunters, Perseus." He stuck his tongue out, but said nothing more, leaving the living shadow that clothed his upper body right where it was, on his arms.

Oddly, they were different, as were his tattoos. The sleeves only went up to the lower part of his bicep, but they wrapped around his hand like fingerless gloves, though the bracelet that housed his bow was still visible. The chain tattoo that coiled up his arm no longer ended at his shoulder like it did previously, but it continued on, connecting with the one on the other arm in the center of his chest before a single chain dropped down, a five pointed star hanging from it. They also noticed his own jewelry, which he wasn't wearing previously. It was a chain with a few rings on it hanging around his neck, five to be exact, each a different color.

He stretched a bit, enjoying the feeling of freedom until he felt the original lust in Drew spike. Looking over to her, he saw that she was wiping a bit of drool from her lip, trying to be discreet about her ogling. Smirking, he shook a finger at her. "You can look, Drew, but no touching." He laughed at her pout, making many of them smile, and a few blush, just from his laughter, even Annabeth, who was tearing up moments before.

Regaining his composure, he looked at them. "Tell your cabins if you wish, but I'll get the gods to make a formal announcement about it later." With that was done, gesturing for Artemis to take over again. She shook her head, not believing what it came down to for him to reveal himself. "Well, I'll be staying here until the other Olympians arrive tonight. Beyond this, there's nothing else of importance. Do as you wish." She lead her hunters, sans Thalia, who wanted to catch up with her friends, to her cabin at that point.

Instead of leaving, many of them began to crowd Perseus, Drew even clinging onto him, much to his displeasure. Plague took the chance to taunt him for it. _'Oh boohoo. Poor baby has not one but two overly attached, big-tittied females who cling to him. Woe unto thee! I pity you SO much right now... Seriously, Percy, the actual fuck are you complaining for?'_ Perseus thought for a moment, but came up blank, so he just let her, though he didn't actively try and grope her... despite the urge.

Sighing as he tried to clear his head, he looked at his friends before noticing Annabeth unsure as to whether or not to approach. "Oi, Annabeth! Come on!" She smiled nervously and approached reluctantly. Percy smiled at her, noticing her displeasure at Drew's position. _'Oh? I don't think she has any right to feel jealous of ANY girl near me.'_ He looked at her, his eyes flashing red momentarily. "So, how's the new boyfriend been?" She jumped at being addressed so suddenly. "Oh, Charles? Everything's great. We actually got married a while back." Percy nodded. "Good to hear."

Theo had enough of being in the dark, so he asked about the elephant in the room. "Okay, what kinda history do you guys have. Lady Annabeth and you, I mean." Percy smirked at her once more before turning to Theo. "Well, let me start from the beginning, just so you get a better picture."

* * *

 **(Here comes the super recap)**

* * *

Percy cleared his throat before he began. "Back before I knew about... all of this, I went to school with Grover. Yeah, current lord of the wild, and stuff. Moving on, Chiron was one of my teachers, because they wanted to keep a REAL close eye on me. Eventually, one of my teachers turned into one of the furies and tried to do some BDSM shit with her whip..." From the look he got on that one, he rephrased it. "Okay, fine, she turned out to be Alecto and nearly killed me until I sliced her in half. I was only twelve, by the way." Everyone's eyes widened, if they didn't know the story.

"Moving on, Mr. Brunner, which was what Chiron was going by, decided that it was about time I went to camp. Grover, who was my protector at the time, accompanied me to my mom before we left, taking by stepdad Gabe's car to get here, to good old Camp Half-blood. Well, it would've been all fine and dandy, but I'm pretty sure Zeus wanted me dead, because a bolt of lightning hit our car during the storm that HAPPENED to start during our trip. Well, did I mention the Minotaur was chasing us? 'Cause he was." The demigods were listening with rapt attention, either never having heard this story or haven't heard it in forever.

Percy took a moment's pause, making a glass of water and taking a sip. "Ah, that's the stuff. Now, my mom and Grover got me out of the car, since I suffered the most damage, since Zeus was aiming at me, after all, and got me up the hill." Got out of Drew's grip and turned around. "I still have this scar from the bolt." On his back, he had an intricate tattoo of wings, beautiful by anyone's standards, but what he was pointing at was below it. There was a rather dark patch of skin that stayed there, a burn, they all realized.

Turning around again, he returned to the story. "I was rather badly hurt at that point, but we had to keep moving. My mom, as a mortal, despite being able to see through the mist, couldn't get through the barrier that surrounds camp, so she stopped halfway up the hill and tried to slow the thing down. Well, I turned back, and saw the thing choking my mom as she mouthed one more word to me. "Go." she them disappeared into a shower of golden dust, kidnapped by Hades, though I didn't know it.

"I thought she was dead, and, with the rain making me stronger, I shook myself out of Grover's grip and did one of the stupidest, most awesome things I've ever done. I charged the Minotaur. I was weaponless, armorless, and untrained, but, in my anger, I wouldn't have cared if that was Kronos himself. I dodged the thing a few times as it charged before, when I got the timing down, jumping on it's head. Ripping off one of its horns, I was tossed off. When I got back up, we charged each other again and I used it's own horn to disembowel the fuck. So, yeah, I kicked the shit out of the Minotaur at twelve, but that's not the point here." Perseus interrupted him at that. "Not the point!? You killed the flipping Minotaur when you were twelve! You deserve to brag a little, man!"

Percy chuckled. "I DESERVE to brag about a lot of things I've done, but you don't see me doing THAT now do you?" He relented and allowed Percy to continue his story. "Well, afterwards, I passed out, burn, tired, a few ribs broken from the crash AND a couple hits from the Minotaur." He heard a few "Ouch"es and "Damn"s, but ignored them. He DIDN'T ignore the crowd that he'd gained, however. "Well, it seems like I have an audience." Chuckling, he continued. "Well, I was taken to the infirmary and I slept for a good few days straight, dreaming about the war brewing between Poseidon and Zeus. When I awoke, I was greeted with the sight of the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen at that point in my life. Can you guess who she was?"

Everyone was mumbling around, giving names of people who they thought were hot. Percy held up his hand. "Yeah, I figured you wouldn't have guessed. It was Annabeth." Surprise ran through the crowd, making them wonder who the hell he was. Most of them came in during the story, mainly due to the Aphrodite girls being drawn to the shirtless dude and the rest coming to see what the commotion was, so none of them knew who he actually was.

Percy raised his hand at that point. "Well, I had just about no tact back then, because the first thing out of my mouth was "Whoa.". She kinda picked up on my thoughts, but brushed them off at the time. INSTEAD, she started interrogating me about stuff that was stolen and a war that I hadn't the SLIGHTEST clue about when I got there. When she heard Chiron, she stuffed a square of ambrosia in my mouth before I could say a thing. I don't blame her, though. After being confined to a camp for years, I'd want info on a possible way out too, even if only for a dangerous and likely deadly quest for the fate of the heart of western civilization." They all looked at him incredulously, hardly believing him. "Hey! I hated being confined SO much, and I still do."

Calming himself from his former indignation, he sighed. "Moving on, I was eventually healed and stuffed into cabin 11 like all the other unclaimed were, but back then, we had no minor god cabins, so every non Olympian child was in there, even if they were claimed. You can thank me for your cabins later." Thunder roared on the clear day, making Percy the slightest bit annoyed. He stopped to yell at the clouds, aka Zeus. "YEAH, YEAH, YEAH! YOU KNOW YOU WOULDN'T HAVE DONE SHIT IF I HADN'T USED MY REQUEST FOR IT!" As he was right, Zeus calmed down, the rumbling in the sky receding. At this point, Artemis and the hunters emerged and joined the group, seeing that it was apparently story time with Percy.

Clearing his throat, he took another sip of water before returning he attention to his shocked audience. Usually, when Zeus thundered, you apologized, or even grovelled, not shouted back and WON, but hey, this was Percy. "Well, eventually, I went through Clarisse's little "initiation" and made her gargle toilet water instead." Her indignant "Hey" was drowned out by the laughter of the demigods and gods. "Afterward, I went through my first sword fighting lesson with Luke Castellan as my teacher. Yes, the one who betrayed us for Kronos, though for reasonable reasons, then betrayed Kronos to allow his defeat." Many people were beginning to piece together the identity of the living legend in front of them, but they couldn't quite place it yet.

"I ended up facing Luke on my first day, and everyone was wishing me "luck", because, apparently, it was common for the new guy to get his ass whooped. So, I was on the defensive the whole time, facing off against that BEST swordsman of our age, period. He tried to teach me the disarming maneuver... by doing to me again, and again... and again. Eventually, we stopped, and I noticed Annabeth here staring at him dreamily." Through the story, Annabeth had been getting more and more relaxed, so now, she was comfortable enough to shout at him. "I was not! I was checking on how you were doing!" He rolled his eyes. "Sure you were." The snickering of his audience drowned out her further protests.

As the demigods quieted, Percy continued. "Eventually we took a break and I just dumped water on my head. Feeling revitalized, I jumped back into it, actually keeping up with him that time, much to everyone's surprise. In the end, I managed to disarm him, and that was the best shocked silence I'd had in my life up to that point." Taking a moment to savor the memory, he then moved on. "Well, it wasn;t to last as he proceeded to fuck me up in the next round." He sighed, seeming to be actually displeased with himself for not being able to beat the best swordsman in that generation, unparalleled in skill in all the previous 100 years.

Ignoring the looks he got, he moved on. "Annabeth then showed up, told me I was gonna be on her team for CtF, which I agreed to, so, when the time came, I was wearing a blue plume on my helmet. Yay. I was stationed at the stream by Annabeth, who, unknown to me, was kinda stalking me the whole time, invisibly, of course. As I patrolled, I encountered Clarisse and her posse, who almost killed me, but they made the mistake of pushing me into the water. I then got up and kicked some major ass, even braking Clarisse's first spear. Needless to say, we won that game, but then Annabeth revealed to me that she did that on purpose, much to my displeasure.

"Well, before I could get on her ass for it, a hell-hound jumped out at us, raking its claws along my chest, shredding through my armor like tin foil in front of a buzz saw." A few of them gasped at that, but Percy waved them off. "Annabeth told me to get into the water, even though Chiron was right there. But, I guess it ended for the better, since I was healed AND claimed as a son of Poseidon. Unfortunately, she began to hate me somewhat, just based on my dad, which was a bit dumb, but understandable. Eventually, we went on a quest, and I brought her and Grover with me, since they were just about my only friends at that point. Before we left, Chiron gave us a bag with a roll of cash, which I enjoyed just the feeling of holding, and my sword, Anaklusmos- Riptide." He brought it out, though it was gold now, and showed them. "It used to be celestial bronze, but I got a few modifications done." Turning it into a pen, he put it in his pocket.

With a nostalgic sigh, he continued his story. "We traveled across good old America, trying to get to L.A., learning new things along the way. I even sent a present to the Olympians in the form of Medusa's head. Ah, good times." He paused for a moment to reminisce before continuing his tale. "Well, after getting Annabeth to NOT hate me anymore, we managed to get all the way to Missouri, where she wanted to stop to see the Gateway Arch. Something told me it was a bad idea, but she pleaded. And pleaded. And pleaded. Seriously, if you've never seen her beg with the fabled puppy-dog eyes, be glad. They are fucking EVIL... But so cute, you can't say no!" They snickered as he looked down, actually distressed.

He recomposed himself before continuing. "Well, we went there, went through a little museum, went up to the top, and blew it up." The silence that followed was priceless. "Oh gods, your faces! Hahaha!" Regaining his composure, he wiped a tear from his eye. "Well, let me rephrase that. We encountered Echidna and her pet/son chihuahua/Chimera." At their looks, he waved them off. "Don't worry about it. She was playing mind games with us by calling it Sonny like it was his name and... don't worry about it. But, THEY were the ones to blow it up. Long story short, Grover and Annabeth were gone, and I couldn't beat BOTH of them, especially after I had some SERIOUS poison coursing through me, so I took the hole the Chimera blew in the wall as an exit and jumped, landing in a river. The Mississippi, I believe. Yeah, that catfish was HUGE." They looked at him oddly, but he waved them off.

"Well, to shorten ANOTHER long story, I traveled to L.A. from there, getting a few pearls from my pops that'd let us escape the underworld, and got the hell out of there, since the cops and such were swarming. Did I mention I was a fugitive at this point? Cause I was." Chuckling at their looks, he took another sip of water before continuing. "Well, to shorten ANOTHER long story, Ares threatened a waitress, sent us on a mini-quest within our current quest- questception much? -, and I got Annabeth to hold my hand... since she was scared shitless of mechanical spiders that wove a web above us in one of Hephaestus' traps for Ares and Aphrodite that we were purposefully sent to. After that, we were given a ride in the back of a screwed up truck that was carrying some animals in crappy conditions. There was this Zebra I could talk to- child of Poseidon thing -so I did, and it asked us to free it, so, when the truck stopped, we did.

"We ended up at the Lotus Hotel and Casino, home of the Lotus Eaters, and barely managed to get out with our identities intact." He shivered a moment, remembering the horrible amazingness that was the hotel. "When we did get out, a few days had passed without us even noticing, so we had to hustle to the underworld. To shorten yet ANOTHER long story, we told Charon, the boatman, that we drowned in a bathtub... together- yes, I know it wasn't my best lie-, stormed the underworld after an alarm went off, went by Tartarus and almost got dragged in due to cursed shoes- don't ask -, and confronted Hades just to find that, in a true M. Night Shyamalan plot twist, we had the stolen bolt the whole time." They looked at him blankly, making him remember they weren't alive during that time. "Wow, you guys missed a lot just by being born right now. Your loss. Well, did I mention that I was accused of stealing that bolt? Well, I was. But I didn't; Luke did, who then got it stolen by Ares." He paused to take another sip of water, letting it all sink in for his audience.

"Well, more accurately, we had it ever since Ares gave us bags with drachmas, cash, and Oreos in them... yeah. So, we got the hell out of there, with the help of the pearls, and appeared in the Pacific Ocean... yup, that happened. After we got to shore, I kicked the crap out of Ares- yeah, I did that at twelve; get on my level - who was under the influence of Kronos, the real mastermind behind all of this, played the innocent child who was being manipulated by him, and got a free ride back to the city in time to meet my deadline, which was the summer solstice. Did I mention that it was the solstice that very day? Well, it was. Unfortunately, we had to leave Grover down there, but I think he lost his virginity down there with how Persephone was looking at him." He shrugged as a few of them gagged and others cat-called.

"Well, moving on, I kicked Ares ass after he revealed it was all part of the plan, for the cursed shoes- once more, don't ask -to drag me into Tartarus with the bolt so Kronos could have it. After that, the police caught us, but we lied our way out of it and got a free ride back to NY... by plane, but I can't complain when it's free. Still hate planes, though." A few snickers rang through the crowd of demigods as they imagined him scared of planes.

Sighing, he took a sip of water. "Well, at that time, I was gambling on the fact that Zeus wanted his bolt back, and I won, since I'm here. Otherwise, he would've shot the whole plane out of the air." Thunder rumbled. "YEAH, YEAH, YOU RUMBLED LIKE THAT WHEN I WAS MID FLIGHT TOO! ASSHOLE!" Lightning struck the ground not too far from him, but he just flipped the sky off, making everyone's eyes go wide. Looking back at his gaping audience, he shrugged at the looks he was getting. "Don't worry about him; he hates truth that doesn't boost his ego. Now, where was I... ah, yes. I got there, got Zeus the bolt by midnight... like on the stroke of midnight, to be honest, and went back to camp half-blood... after getting them to free Grover. Now that was just my FIRST quest... Oh, and Luke officially betrayed us after this, poisoning me with a scorpion. I was fine in the end, though."

"Then, there was my NEXT quest to the Sea of Monsters, but THAT one began rather... oddly. Let's just say Annabeth here was stalking me for an entire morning before I was nearly eating by giants then nearly, uh, sucked dry by two empousa... yeah." After everyone finished laughing at both the implications and Annabeth's face, he went on to recap his time in the Sea of Monsters, his encounter with Clarrise, his use of his empathy link, his experience with Grover almost getting married/eaten, and their retrieval of the Golden Fleece, which freed Thalia from the tree atop Half-Blood hill. His response when he got a question as to why she was even in the tree was... very Percy-esk. "THAT is its own story; one that I'm technically not even involved in, but I would totally tell if Thalia wasn't here in person. Ask her for the details on THAT one."

He then went on to his quest in which he saved Artemis, much to her disdain, since she began to get looks from the demigods who knew nothing of the quest. "Well, this was a quest to remember. I first met Nico on it, yeah, the emo one, but, back then, ...he sure as hell wasn't emo." Nico, who'd popped by halfway through the previous quest, groaned openly, while Artemis, Thalia, Zoe, Annabeth, both Stolls, Katie, Clarisse, and anyone else that remembered him began to snicker lightly if not outright laugh at him. Even Phoebe cracked a smile, unable to keep up her impassive facade through that.

Percy, who began to laugh, tried to continue but was cut off. "Don't you DARE, Percy!" Despite the anger felt in his voice, anyone could here the desperation it contained. Percy smirked at him, managing to stop laughing. "What's wrong? It was your favorite game, wasn't it? What was it called again?... Oh yea, my-" He was cut off a gag of shadow came up from his own shadow and latched onto him. As Percy broke down into guffaws, Thalia decided to finish it. "Weren't you a die-hard Mythomagic player, Death Breath?" Nico slumped as the crowd of demigods erupted into laughter at his expense.

Percy pulled off the gag with relative ease, still chuckling, and resumed his story. "Well, we fought the Manticore, Annabeth got kidnapped, etc. Did I say that I first met the hunters here? 'Cause I did. And, to be honest, I had to try REALLY hard not to stare. Not because they were cute... well, they were EXTREMELY cute, but that wasn't the most prominent thing on my mind. It was because there was a group of them... who could actually shoot a bow and arrow! This was amazing to me, because I thought bows were impossible back then, so... yeah. I was impressed beyond all measure already. Well, that changed when I figured out they were just the slightest bit sexist against men... okay, it was REALLY bad back then. Nowadays, they can kinda stand me walking in their camp, but I don't like to push it. They don't shoot Nico either, but that may just be because of Thalia. I swear, she may be a hunter, but it's like their married." The lightning bolt that flew past his face wasn't from Zeus that time.

He chuckled, slightly nervous, as he moved on. "W-well, moving on, we also met his sister, Bianca Di Angelo, and she joined the hunters. We ended up getting a ride from Apollo, and Thalia showcased her horrible driving skills at the wheel, nearly incinerating half of America... oh yeah, we were in the sun, by the way. That could've totally happened." As everyone looked at Thalia, the hunt slowly backing away from her, she sent a death glare at Percy. Chuckling, he resumed his story. "Well, we- actually, you guys wanna relocate? I still have two more sections after this to explain our past together, and even THAT is only half of the full story." As they went to move, Percy decided otherwise. "Screw it, have some seats." He made a couple rows of benches and tables, even going as far as to leave popcorn and other snacks on them. He made a separate one for the hunters, knowing them.

As everyone had a seat, Percy looked to Drew, who was still firmly attached to his arm. "Uh, don't you wanna sit?" As she went to shake her head in a negative response, her eyes met Artemis', and she quickly noticed, despite how calm they looked, that they were twitching every so often... and slightly glowing... and pointed straight at her. Nodding quickly, she went to sit at her table, not wanting to risk the goddess' wrath.

If Percy noticed, he gave no sign of it as he cleared his throat, making a stool under him. "We'll get to how I can do that another time... maybe. Now, Arty here-" he was cut off by a growl from Artemis, but continued as if he didn't hear it. "-went off to hunt a monster that the Manticore clued us in on. She left the hunters here, letting me experience my fist Hunters vs. Campers CtF match... in which we managed to tie." Despite the fact that they didn't win, there were wide eyes and gasps from many of the camper who didn't know, and a grumble from both Zoe and Phoebe, the only two who were on the hunters side at the time. "Yeah, that happened. Moving on, a quest was issued after I had a dream about Arty holding up the sky in place of Atlas. See, Annabeth took the sky from Luke, as she still kinda loved him, and them Artemis took it from her, helping a maiden in need, even though it was a trap. Well, I told Chiron, he did his old dude thing, yadda yadda yadda, but the freakiest thing was when the fucking Oracle took a stroll to get to Thalia(A/N: If memory serves, this actually happened in BoTL, but I'm changing that)." The crowd looked confused for the most part.

Percy then remembered that the Oracle was an actual person now. "Ah, back then, the Oracle had a curse that she wouldn't be able to pass on the spirit of Delphi because Zeus was a fucker, which caused Hades to be an ass, etc. Simply put, the oracle was a shriveled up hippy/mummy back then... and I'm not joking about the mummy part... or the hippy part. Understand why this was a bit surprising?" He got some shivers from his more squeamish listeners and a large amount of "oh"s. Shaking his head he continued. "Well, we got sent on a quest to save Artem- sorry, Arty, though we had five people. It was SUPPOSED to be Phoebe, Zoe, Thalia, Bianca, and a hunter who's name escapes me at the moment, but the Stolls put centaur blood in a shirt for her, making her get pulled out. It was a prank, but... well, I can't complain about the results.

"They would've just left with the four of them, dooming them to fail, but I was gracious enough to see such folly and actually aid them, even if I was a male, though they weren't all that happy. Didn't stop me, though. Well, for the sake of shortening what'd be an enormous story, we made our way across the country to California, again, fighting monsters, again, and I got the females present to hate me a bit less during the trip, again. I even met Rachel Dare, the one who became the oracle, during the quest. We had a dam good time though." Phoebe chuckled, but Thalia burst out laughing, much to the confusion of everyone and the displeasure of Zoe, who Percy explained it to during their time in Tartarus. "Don't worry about it; just know that old English can be rather amusing."

He sobered up rather quickly as he remembered the part of the quest that came next. "Well, after that, we got to the desert, where some things happen. I had my first run in with Aphrodite, which was... surprisingly informative. When she smiled at me, using her magic to look like whoever I found beautiful, the first person that popped up was Annabeth, and that even shocked me." A few cat calls ran through the crowd, but Percy ignored them, remembering what part was coming up. "Then was Artemis, then Zoe, then... well, I think you get it. I feel no embarrassment in admitting those, by the way." The audience looked at Artemis, seeing her sighing, though there was a light blush on her face, invisible unless you look rather closely.

Percy's sigh brought them back to him."We also lost one in the desert. Nico's sister, Bianca Di Angelo, the one who I specifically promised to-" Nico's hand landed on his shoulder, breaking him out of the mini-guilt trip he was about to go on. Percy nodded at him in thanks before continuing. "Well, she died protecting me, but, in the end, we got to Mt. Othyrs, where they had Annabeth and Artemis. We got her back and she helped us fight off Luke, but not before tempting Thalia with some major shit. Don't worry about it, but... well, do you guys know about Bessy, the animal Poseidon has in that water sphere on Olympus?" He got a large amount of nods, though a few shook their heads. "Well, if someone killed it and sacrificed its entrails, they'd get the power to kill the gods."

Percy saw the shock come over their faces. "Yeah, that exists. Go ahead and try if you want, but you'll get killed the moment you even LOOK at Bessy the wrong way. Now, long story short, we denied all their offers of amnesty and such, fought Atlas, Zoe's dad, and I took the sky from Artemis." People looked at him in awe. "Yeah, yeah, I held the sky. Big whoop. So did Annabeth, so did Artemis, and Atlas had been doing it for millennia before we came along. I did get a couple grey hairs from it, though. So did Annabeth, but hey, at least we matched." People looked at Annabeth and could see it, but when they looked at him, they couldn't find a speck of gray in his head.

Percy rolled his eyes as they searched his hair. "I'm kind of like a ninja now; a flash of silvery grey in the dark would give me away if I get hired for a stealth mission. I hide it with magic now, but you guys can see if you want." At their nods, he undid it, showing the silver hairs in his head, many times more that Annabeth's. "I ended up doing that a few more times in the past few years, but it gets easier. I can do it rather easily now." They gave him that look of awe again, but he let them, realizing the magnitude of what he said.

Redoing the magic, he began again. "Well, good old Arty here was pissed after seeing Atlas take down Zoe and soloed him after that. Sadly, Zoe was kinda dying and beyond any of our ability to heal at that time, so Artemis put her in the stars... 'cause she can do that. Thankfully, this preserved her life, so I was able to heal her a couple decades later. That's why she's alive now, actually, but that's its own story- a decently long one too. Now, we went back to Olympus, reported, etc., but, when we got back to camp half-blood, we had to break the news to Nico. It kinda... broke him of the Mythomagic stage, especially since she got killed for taking a statue of Hephaestus from his junkyard, triggering the trap. I gave him the figure but he kinda... exploded. He summoned some skeletons and such, but in the end, he ran away, and that was the last I saw of HIM for a while." Percy got a sip of water once more, his throat beginning to feel a bit dry after so much talking.

"Well, Annabeth here tried to comfort me and tell me it wasn't my fault, blah, blah, blah. It kinda was my fault, but let's not get into that. The NEXT big adventure was our dance with Daedalus... and his labyrinth. This one is a REALLY big story, so I'll try and summarize as best I can. We were playing CtF, found an entrance, got a quest, dragged a mortal into it, said mortal being Rachel, who I mentioned earlier, who, by the way, was rich, and I found out that Annabeth got jealous REAL easy... and we weren't even dating! Well, I guess we WERE holding hands during the first part of our time in the maze, but still..." Her face reddened at the mention of her actions at the time, but she paid no mind to the cat calls and just looked at Percy with a calculating look. _'What are you doing, Percy?'_ He ignored the look and kept going with the story.

"Well, things happened, and it came to the point where we got to Mt. St. Helens. It got converted to a forge for monsters, and actually still is now, last I checked. Regardless, we saw them forging things for the growing monster army at the time, and decided we had to do something. I convinced her to go back and warn camp while I dealt with things there. She looked like she was gonna kick my ass for even suggesting that, but she did the exact opposite..." Annabeth's eyes went everywhere BUT the super-powered demigod in front of her, staring at her with amusement at her discomfort. "She kissed me. It was my first, if I'm honest with you." A few "aw"s went around along with a few looks sent Annabeth's way, which she pointedly ignored.

"Well, after she left, I spent a few minutes trying to remember who I was. After that I ended up blowing up the mountain. As a son of Poseidon, I had a store of water within me that I could access with enough practice, but I had none of that, so I lost control. I'm above average when it comes to children of Poseidon, at least from what I can tell, because I almost destroyed the whole mountain with the untrained blast, ALMOST freeing Typhon, the storm giant." There was silence for a moment before the children of Poseidon began to cheer for him. "Thank you, thank you. Well, after that, I got sent to Calypso's island, and I think you know what that means, Leo." He got a sad nod from the Latino, remembering the curse that was placed on his beloved. "Yeah, man. I know."

Percy sighed before resuming his story, taking a drink of water. "Well, back then, the gods were serious douches, for the most part. They had Calypso on an island, trapped in isolation for all eternity just because she was related to the Titans. You know that much, but whenever a hero found her island, it was always someone who she couldn't help but fall in love with. And someone who she could never have. Everyone who went there has had a sense of duty, compelling them to leave her, but it's nigh impossible to find the island twice, at least not in the same lifetime. Well, she was beautiful, but, as much as I wished to stay with her at the time, Annabeth kept popping back into my mind, my responsibilities as the child of prophecy at the time weighing on my shoulders."

He sighed heavily as he thought back to the time. "I left with a heavy heart, but promised I'd get her freed. It thought I'd die from whatever the gods had planned for me, so I figured I could get them to do at least THAT much before that happened. Well, when I got back, I found them burning my shroud, Annabeth in the middle of my eulogy. They noticed me, and Annabeth nearly crushed my ribs in a hug. Thalia would've killed me, but thankfully, she was with the hunters at the time." He chuckled with a bit of satisfaction at the uncomfortable look on Annabeth's face, though it was more from the stares of those who knew her when her and Percy were together than the looks from everyone else.

"Well, we weren't done, as there was still an invasion of monsters coming through the labyrinth, and we had to stop it. I fought Kampe to the death halfway through the whole invasion, forcing me to leave holding them off to the rest of the campers. In the end, we needed to end Daedalus, who kept himself alive by transferring his spirit to an automaton, to end the fight, since his life was tied to the existence of his greatest creation." Murmurs ran through his crowd at that.

"Well, onto the last part, the big one for you to understand just what our relationship was. Now, you gotta know that Kronos had a ship with minsters on it that held a coffin with his essence. Said essence was then transferred to Luke Castellan, the person he chose as his vessel. My friend Beckendorf and I went on a mission to blow it to hell before it reached NY, its destination. He planted the greek-fire charges while I caused a distraction. I thought I was pretty god at it until I realized that I was surrounded by a possessed Luke and a mini-monster army. THEN they dragged Beck on deck and I nearly lost it, In the end, I tried to beat Kronos then, but I got my ass kicked. I got the hell outa there, but Beck blew the ship up with him trying to take Kronos with him and end the war before it began, No such luck, though." Percy sighed, thinking of Beckendorf's sacrifice back then.

Perking himself back up, having learnt not to dwell on such things, he continued. "Well, I'll skip to the good bits here. Nico came back, confirmed what I believed, telling me that I needed to bathe in the river Styx to stand a chance against him. We left and did as much, though I got into trouble with Hades, who was trying the age old mistake of controlling a prophecy so Nico would survive until sixteen, not me. Well, long story short, Nico and I became bros again, I took a dip in the Styx, then I held Hades and gunpoint... sword-point. During my time in the Styx... well, you have a limited amount of time to find something to tie you to the mortal plane, as no one can be completely invulnerable. Many think it's just choosing a spot that isn't impervious to damage, which is true, but only half the story. You have to find something you care about more than yourself, something you would give it all for, if you had anything. Achilles was lucky he had this done as a baby, because finding that thing requires a serious soul searching... and it turned out mine was Annabeth." He gave the Aphrodite cabin a hard look, their squeals becoming annoying, but they didn't care. He sighed before continuing. "Well, before this, I told everyone to assemble in NY, since the war was imminent, but I told Nico to convince his dad to fight in the war.

"Annabeth saw me, looked me over, noticing the bullet holes and such in my shirt- Hades summoned some crazy shit to fight me - but didn't comment on how amazing she thought I looked... Okay, she didn't say anything on how screwed up I looked." He had to tell the truth when the looks of disbelief started rolling in. "Well, we organized the fight, and I thought I was gonna get another good luck kiss like at Mt. St. Helens, but, alas, I was left hangin'." He looked down in disappointment, eliciting a few chuckles from his audience.

"Well, we were fighting back a monster army, I convinced a few river gods to help protect us by drowning some monster who tried to get in over said rivers, and I was running around, trying to be everywhere at once. Sadly, I couldn't, and I couldn't protect everyone, so casualties were inevitable; didn't stop me from trying though. I even had a rematch with the Minotaur at one point, though he still got his ass kicked" He shrugged before continuing. "When one of our companies was about to fall, Thalia and the hunters popped in, pushing them back. Well, after that, I had a run in with Hyperion. We fought, we ran on water, we talked then went back to fighting, he summoned blinding light, we fought some more, I summoned a hurricane, we fought some MORE, and finally, he got turned into a tree which I proceeded to destroy, just to prevent him having any chance of getting out." He stopped a moment, savoring in the looks he was getting, especially the looks of awe from the Poseidon cabin.

"Ah, that was a good fight, when I look back at it. Well, moving on, I'll skip Clarisse's part and get to the end of this." Her indignant "HEY!" was ignored. "We were pushed back to empire state building, surrounded on each side, when Kronos himself came out. He and Chiron had a father son staring contest before Chiron ended up in a wall. Yup, he got his ass WHOOPED. Then, Hades popped out of the underworld with a load of skeletons, helping us out, but Kronos ran away like a wuss, putting a barrier around the building that trapped some of us inside, Annabeth, Grover, Thalia, and myself included.

"Well, he made a beeline for the throne room, and we followed suit. Hera's statue fell on Thalia on the way, trapping her, but we had to move on. When it came down to it, it was Annabeth, Grover, and myself versus Kronos. He looked like Luke, already putting him at an advantage against the two of them, so, to be honest, it was me, for the most part. We went back and forth for a while, but he could sorta take time outs whenever he wanted, due his control over time, though it did tire him out when he did; Luke's body had its limits.

"Eventually, he showed us Typhon, who the gods had been fighting as he plowed across America, coming for their seats of power like Kronos, but my dad popped out of a river and dragged him into Kronos with some cyclopes. He got mad at that, but I'd managed to knock his sword into the hearth. At that point, Luke actually managed to gain control again, but he was starting to glow. Kronos was preparing to assume his true form and regain 100% of his power." He scoffed at that. "I doubt it would've been that much of a difference, to be honest with you. Kronos is complete right now, and the last time we fought, I kicked his ass. But, whatever, that's not the point. In the end, Annabeth ended up giving him her knife so he could hit his own vulnerable point, since Kronos would've stopped any of us if we tried. She did it, and he killed himself, sacrificing himself so Kronos wouldn't be brought back to full power.

"While Luke laud on the floor, battered, broken, and dying, he asked Annabeth if she loved him. In that moment, she made a choice. A choice between me and him... and she chose me. It was a bitter sweet moment for all of us, getting a bit of closure at the cost of his life, but what's done is done.

"After that, during the ceremony the gods held, I was offered immortality. I turned it down... for her." The sighs and squeals of the Aphrodite cabin now drowned out any other sound present, so Percy had to wait before he could continue. "I wished for the release of people like Calypso, who weren't guilty of anything but being related to a Titan, and for the gods to recognize ALL demigods, not just the children of the Olympians. Oh, and I told them to claim all their children by 15, which they've been doing a good job at so far. Now, this isn't even the end of it. We went on to have a party in which Athena confronted me on her beloved daughter, in which I had to stand my ground or have her give me the thumbs down. I stood my ground, but she still disapproved, but oddly allowed us to try something.

"With her permission, I went back to camp half-blood, and I was greeted by none other than my crush. Well, we sat together, talked, then she wished me a happy 16th birthday, since the prophecy was completed at the stroke of midnight on my birthday. As I was feeling touched that she remembered, as she was the ONLY ONE-yeah, thanks guys-, something kinda... clicked. We leaned in and it kind of just happened. Then, the moment was ruined by everybody, who proceeded to throw us in the lake to... "cool us off" was it?" He got nods from the laughing Clarisse, Stolls, and Katie.

Shaking his head, a small, sincere smile on his face from the memory, he continued. "Well, being a son of Poseidon, I made an air bubble at the bottom and we picked up where we left off, though, I made sure to officially ask her out before anything... oh, don't worry; we didn't go past kiss. Regardless, THAT is my past with Annabeth here, though that doesn't really give the most updated version of our... RELATIONSHIP." At that, he saw Annabeth wipe a tear from her face. _'I'm finally making her crack, huh? Well, I won't stop until she breaks.'_ "Wanna hear that?" He got nods that he was hoping for, though he made it seem like it was a bit of a hassle. "Well, sorry, wise-girl. I'm running a democracy here."

Getting up for a moment, he stretched before sitting down again. "Well, this is an EXCESSIVE one, so I'll just skip around. Hera, or Juno, I guess, stole my memories and those of Jason Grace and switched us, putting him here and me in the roman camp. The only thing that I could remember, despite her trying to wipe my mind of EVERYTHING, was Annabeth's hair, then her face." The Aphrodite cabin, once more, became excessively loud, but Percy glanced over to see Annabeth drowning in regret. But he wasn't done. He'd make her understand just how much she'd meant to him by the end of this.

Chiron walked, well, trotted in at that point, noticing the crowd, then who he barely recognized as Percy. "Ah, Chiron! It's apparently story time, so why don't you join in! We'll catch up later, though." Chiron, through a few tears, managed to nod. "Well, as I made my way to that camp, I... actually, let's skip that part and just go to my first quest. Well, after a match over there, Mars, note, not Ares, popped up and gave my friend Frank a quest. Well, I ended up getting into a fight with him... and won, so the Romans weren't sure what to make of me. All that anyone was sure of was that Frank was picking me for the quest... oh, and his girlfriend Hazel, though they'd never have admitted it at the time.

"All the while, as we went on a quest to free death, I was trying to piece together my memory, Annabeth at my core, giving me something to work with, a core that I was basing my entire existence on. I tried to remember if she'd met my parents, just so I could remember them, I tried to remember who I'd talked to with her around, trying to bring up new faces, but, in the end, she was the only part of me that I could pin down, and I didn't even remember her name, just... her." He waited for the Aphrodite cabin once more, sending a small glare their way. "Well, eventually, we managed to get to good old Alaska, the land beyond the gods, and, long story short, they killed Alcyoneus, I tore through an undead cohort with an electric eagle, and we rode a supersonic, potty-mouthed horse back to San Fran, where we fought a mini-war with Amazons that wanted me dead originally and Romans that needed help, in which I killed Polybotes." The silence that followed, combined with the faces, was worth any amount of gold. "Haha! Yeah, I had just about the same response when I stopped to think about what happened."

Taking a sip of water, he thought about the time, finding that a few hours had passed since he began to tell his tale. "Well, it's getting late, so I'll speed it up. We went to Greece, Annabeth nearly fell into Tartarus, I pulled her out at the cost of falling in myself, and I fought my way through Tartarus. I nearly gave up a few times, but as soon as I began to regret, her voice would start shouting at me to get the hell up. I mean, it was probably just a hallucination, but it helped." As the Aphrodite cabin began to get going again, Percy raised a hand to them. "Nononononononono... None of that. You won't be saying that by then end of this story anyway." They were confused, except for those who knew his past, bur said nothing, noting the sad/disappointed/angry faces on his friends.

"Moving forward, I had a nosebleed that ended up awakening Gaea, got bitch slapped back to NY by Zeus, and proceeded to kick the shit out of Gaea with Mr. Human Torch over there." Leo grinned as Percy pointed at him and chose to show of. "FLAME ON!" He burst into flames, making everybody stumble back as he went out, laughing.

Percy shook his head. "Yeah, he can do that." He stopped to take a sip of water. "So, after we finished doing that, and Leo blew himself up, taking Gaea, and, oddly, Octavian, with him, and throwing me DEEP into the Atlantic, I passed out. Woke up a few days later, and when I got back, I found they were burning my pyre... AGAIN." He shook his head at that. "I feel like they really just wanted me to die, or something. Well, jokes on them; I was pretty much unkillable, even though I didn't know it." At the looks he got, he waved his hand dismissively. "Maybe later, but I gotta finish this story."

He tapped his chin as he tried to remember where he was. "Ah, yes. Well, I stuck around to see what they'd burn for my pyre, 'cause I'm curios like that, and I found it to be rather plain. I mean, yeah, I was excessively humble back then, but still. Maybe do SOMETHING a bit different. Send me off to sea, burn me in greek fire, something." He sighed. "Well, I guess I wouldn't have liked that anyway. But, Annabeth nearly broke... me when she noticed me... from the impact of her tackle, the strength of her death gri-, sorry, hug, and the sucker punch the stomach, I wouldn't have been able to tell that she cared if not for the tears. And there were a lot of those. Seriously, she knows how to make me feel guilty so easily, but I don't get how waterworks are so effective on a son of Poseidon." He shrugged before continuing.

"We speculated on whether Leo was alive, though in the end I was right, since he's here, and finished up the final rights for those who perished... did I mention the Romans were attacking at the time? 'Cause they were. Sorry, I actually forgot to say that one." He chuckled sheepishly as they looked at him, visibly annoyed. "Well, after that, stuff happened, and it came time to get rewarded by the Olympians. Most of us got offered godhood and took it. I didn't, again, thinking Annabeth would prefer a life with me." His eyes flashed dangerously, and, this time, everyone could see it.

If they hadn't been staring right at him, seeing his eyes go blood red, no one would be able to tell he was even slightly unhappy. His voice, his posture, his face, none of them betrayed anything, but his eyes made them shiver in the instant they turned such a malicious color. "Imagine my shock when she took it, only beginning to even think about me after she was already made immortal." Annabeth couldn't meet any of the eyes that glanced her way. "It was like she ripped out my heart, and threw it back in the Styx... over and over again. I mean, I tried to put up a strong front, support her decision, but I couldn't stop a few tears."

As they began to whisper, Percy coughed into his hand, regaining their attention. "Don't worry. I got over it, accepted godhood, and we lived happily ever after." It would've been far more believable if he wasn't looking at them with a somewhat cruel smirk, enjoying Annabeth tearing herself up about her choice. "Well, that WOULD'VE been the case, but I didn't wish to exist eternally, never dying, never seeing my dead friends again, never being able to rest. Even now, I can still be killed, as difficult as it may be; my immortality is just a suped-up version of the hunters." He got a few looks, but waved them off for the millionth time in the story.

"No, I didn't get it from Artemis. I became immortal on my own power." The looks he got at that were priceless. "I'll explain that at the end of this, but my story isn't even done. Now, here's the interesting part of this whole deal; I was gonna get sent to Tartarus to preserve a balance of sorts. You may not know this, though Artemis here does, but every time Gaea has fallen, SOMEONE has been punished severely as a result of her being awakened in the first place. Apollo got a century in Tartarus, castrated the whole time, there was a demigod at one point who was sentenced to a temporary, ah, VISIT to the fields of punishment before a shortened stay in Tartarus, though said stay killed him, and even Zeus had a punishment stay in Tartarus." As the demigods spoke in hushed tones about what they were hearing, Percy smirked bitterly. "Guess who was next in line?"

As they pieced it together, Percy nodded, pointing at himself. "Yup, numero uno. Well, I was offered an out by my father a little while before, but I denied, since Annabeth was next in line after me." Her head shot up, looking at him in shock. "Yup, in the end, I went to Tartarus for her... TWICE! My sentence was supposed to be a century, but the gods finally grew a pair halfway through it and decided to screw that rule over. Unfortunately, time passes four times as slow in Tartarus, so 50 years up here was 200 down there. Still, they did hire me as a guardian, and I'm making a decent amount, so I can't complain on that front."

He nodded as they realized how he felt. "Yeah, I spent 200 years in hell to protect my backstabbing girlfriend, and let me tell you this... if I could go back and do it again, I would. Not because I love her, no no no. THAT stopped being the case more that a century back, and now, all that's left are wounds that are still healing. I'd do it because it made me all the stronger. You said you wanted to know how I was immortal? Well, I'll indulge you." At this point, the gods had assembled, hearing about the game and wishing to come early. Now, they were listening intently, wondering how he became immortal.

"Every time I beat an immortal, I gained their domain, even if I didn't strike the final blow. I gained time from Kronos, light from Hyperion, earth from Gaea, mortality from Iapetus, a water boost from Polybotes, war from both Mars AND Ares. I even got revelry, parties, and insanity from Otis and Ephialtes. The only thing any demigod who has done so is missing is they key to unlock all that power... which I have." They all looked at him in unrestrained shock. Not at the statement, but at the fact that it was Percy, PERCY, talking about how much power he had.

Percy laughed, not really caring anymore. He was getting a bit fired up now. "THIS is why I don't hate Annabeth here with all my heart, though that doesn't mean I don't hate her with part of it. Down in Tartarus there are so many immortals there. I've beaten Perses and gotten destruction added to my power and even managed to beat back Tartarus himself, though that was in my first visit to Tartarus. And guess what? I've helped to reform the place! There's a stadium where people can fight it out, paving for easy transport, so many things. And that's not even half of it, but you don't really need to know the rest. Let's just say that the titans AND the primordial gods have been back for a while, but you're safe from an attack by them." He basked in the awe that was radiating from his ENTIRE audience, except Zoe, Thalia, and Nico.

Looking at Zeus, he smirked. "Well, gonna try and banish me again? Am I "too powerful" or something?" Zeus gaped like a fish out of water, opening and closing his mouth, but not a sound came out. Percy laughed. "Well, don't worry about me; I'm not the strongest thing out there. That would be Khaos... and Order, but I don't see much of him. If worst comes to worst, there's still some stronger beings you can turn to. Actually, they all know of my past, so as long as SHE is among you, I don't know how likely they are to help." Percy stopped, realizing he'd been spilling a few of secrets, that he was letting his emotions get the best of him. "Well, I think that's about enough for story time. You now know what my history with Annabeth is, why I went to Tartarus, and why I'm so strong. So, still wanna spar, Theo and Perseus?" They nodded excitedly, looking at him with a sense of admiration.

As he walked towards the training grounds, he took a few calming deep breathes before looking back, seeing some of the campers passed out while others were breaking out of their shocked state, the Aphrodite campers looking just about ready to kill Annabeth. Smirking as if he wasn't about to accidentally kill her, immortality be damned, he spoke. "If you ever need something, don't just come to me, unless you've got the cash to make it happen; I'm not a charity service. We'll catch up after the CtF match, guys." As he walked away, the two children of the big three trailing behind him excitedly, his friends looked at each other, though Clarisse spoke their thoughts. "What happened to him? He never used to be so... arrogant." Zoe interrupted the train of thought right there. "He isn't. He's FAR stronger that what he just told you. It's just that him downplaying his achievements is like the sun getting brighter. We can't tell the difference; all we know is that it's far too bright. Well, Percy's just that strong; those things are common place for him, now."

Zoe's analogy brought different questions to light, which were voice by Nico. "Then why was he so... you know." Zoe shook her head as she sighed. "He was getting angry. Very angry. If he continued, he might've just snapped and lashed out at Annabeth, though I wouldn't have blamed him. He's the same person, regardless of what he tells you. He helps people, though now he has a reputation to uphold and a job to do. He doesn't want to hurt any of you, no matter how mad he is. Everything else was just a bit of bravado so he could sell it."

All through this, Annabeth was looking down, thinking on what she'd done. Thinking on how much he'd changed, all because of her. Artemis approached her, looking livid, though she didn't notice a thing until it was far too late. Grabbing her hair from behind, she yanked it. HARD. As Annabeth's head flew up against her will, Artemis was in front of her in an instant, whispering scathingly to her. "You may have ruined the only good man I've found in this world. I hope you feel proud of yourself, bitch, because he won't be going back to being himself ever again."

Annabeth just averted her eyes from Artemis, feeling the sting of her words, but Artemis wasn't done. "Zoe may say that he hasn't changed, but when I look in his eyes, I can tell. I can see every bit of pain you caused him, sitting there, festering." She took a deep breath, backing off from her a moment, still whispering so none of the others could hear what she was saying. "I have one warning for you, Chase. Don't try any of the bull I feel stirring in that pea brain of yours. You'll only make it worse. Don't touch him, don't talk to him. Don't even look at him."

Annabeth started to finally get angry at that. She got up from her seat, towering over the seemingly 12 year old goddess, her voice drawing the attention of everyone else. "I just want to apologize to him!" Artemis' eyes narrowed dangerously. "I don't care. He nearly blew up on you from just being near you. A sorry won't help anything; do you really think it'll do anything but make things worse!" She grew to her 18 year old form, standing an inch or two above her.

Staring down at the now fearful Annabeth with glowing silver eyes, she spoke in a tone that even made the hunters flinch. "You're walking on thin ice, Chase. With him... and with me."

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A/N: Ooooooooh, she mad. Well, this chapter became a lot larger that I originally intended, but it was fun to type. I did the whole recap part from memory, and, while that may be no big deal for some, if not most of you, I haven't read the stories in a while, and school has been my real priority until recently, so I was surprised I could remember any of that stuff. Anyway, things will actually start heating up from hear on out, so prepare yourselves. I can do chapter like these more often now that I don't have school, but I think I'll stick to 10K-15K chapters, unless you guys(and gals) want short but often updates. I don't really like them, but, hey, I'll leave it up to you! This chapter wasn't my best work, though, so don't judge me too harshly.


	4. No Calm Before THIS Storm(SHORT CHAPTER)

A/N: Heya guys! I'm back with another chapter... which you could probably tell from reading this. Regardless, I have a few things to say before we begin again.

First off, I must thank you guys for the reviews. Every time I read them, I get motivated to write another chapter of this story. It really does matter that I know people enjoy this story. Secondly, I may end up switching this to an M-Rated story. Not because I intend for it to become a gore and sex filled thing, but I really enjoy the freedom, both in language and scenes. Just that one scene with Kelli in the last chapter was sorta pushing it, but I don't want to remove an idea that I think really fits in with the flow of the story because I think I might get reported for it or something like that. Not sure yet, but I may do so by next chapter, just to be on the safe side. Thirdly, I'm gonna try the whole short chapter thing, see how well it fits me. I think I might just write until I feel a good cut off point comes up. If it happens before 11 pm tonight(which is the latest I ever really type), I'll post this. If not, well, this will have become irrelevant, because I'll probably just type a normal length chapter. Meh.

Well, I think that's about it.(But seriously, you guys are a lot nicer than the Naruto crowd. For the most part, my reviews there are just votes and people criticizing my writing... negatively. T-T)

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Artemis looked down at the child of Athena, disdain, if not outright hatred plain to see. None of those emotions showed on her face beyond the disapproval everyone present saw. Glancing around, she noticed that everyone still present, and even a few of those who were leaving, had turned to her to see what was happening. Aphrodite even had a camera out, though she quickly hid it when Artemis made eye contact.

Her attention was brought back to Annabeth as she growled. "Why do YOU care about anything I do with him!? Mind your own business!" Artemis froze for a moment, and everything in the clearing went completely and utterly silent.

Artemis closed her eyes for a moment and thought. _'Mind my own business? Mind my own business!?'_ The ground in the immediate vicinity to Artemis trembled slightly as a silver glow covered her skin. As she opened her eyes, staring at the child of Athena with hate, Annabeth couldn't help but stumble back, remembering that she'd been talking to an Olympian. One of the stronger ones at that.

When her voice came out, it was a whisper. "Mind my own business, girl?" Annabeth began to tremble at the anger concealed behind that voice. "The moment he became the guardian of my hunters, this became my business." She took a step towards Annabeth, who scrambled backwards before freezing, seeing the anger in the Olympian's eyes increase. "The moments he showed that your name still brought him a modicum of pain, this was my business." She took another step forward, making Annabeth's breath catch in her throat. "The times when he took care of my hunters like they were family, this was sure as hell my business."

Getting right in her face, Artemis stopped. "And the times when he proved himself to be my friend, I made sure, that when the time came, this would be my business."

Realizing that she was making a scene, Artemis calmed herself down. "See what your big mouth almost caused, Chase!?" She didn't even wait for a response as she continued. "Imagine what would happen if you decided to be such a dumbass in front of someone that strong; are you TRYING to get us all killed!? Because I'm sure Percy would find a way to kill a god if you set him off!"

As Annabeth pondered her words, Artemis, still angry enough to glow, stormed into the woods, wishing to be alone in her domain.

Everyone was silent, a few people sending glances at Annabeth in anger/disgust/disappointment. The rest were just shocked that Artemis openly acknowledged a male as her friend. That she even got mad at Annabeth in the first place.

Aphrodite, once this registered with her, squealed. "Ooooh, I LOVE this drama!" The Olympians just glanced at her, worried about what she had planned. Then, they separated, going off to greet their children.

* * *

Meanwhile, Percy was staring at the two children of the big three with a smirk. Deciding against summoning his swords, he made a "come hither" motion with his hand.

They were happy to, now knowing that he was the Percy Jackson that people told stories about. Perseus(Remember, Perseus will refer to Zeus' son) rubbed two rings on either hand, causing them to turn into two combat knives that were attached to celestial bronze brass knuckles on each hand. Theo rubbed a necklace he had on, making it quickly turn into a celestial bronze hatchet. Before Percy could comment on the odd weaponry, they charged him simultaneously, trying to catch him off guard.

Unfortunately for them even if they were rather fast by demigod standards, they were moving at a snail's pace for Percy. Dodging a swipe from Perseus' knives by leaning backwards, he caught the other hand as it came for a follow up. He just caught Theo's hatchet as it came it his head, grabbing its blade between his index finger and thumb. The small crowd they managed to gather whispered among themselves at that, making Percy roll his eyes before refocusing on the two demigods. _'I always manage to attract a crowd nowadays.'_

He smirked as he pushed them back a good few feet, making them stumble. "Come on, you gotta be faster than that." Perseus growled and began to crackle with electricity. He charged at Percy, zigzagging across the training area as he went, lightning streaking behind him.

Theo wasn't just watching, though. Concentrating, he managed to pull water from the atmosphere, coating himself and the head of his hatchet in it. Jumping clear over Perseus' trail of lightning by pushing the water that was around him upwards, he held himself there a moment before shooting down at Percy like a bullet. Demigods began cheering for them seeing them try so hard. _'_ _They might beat Percy Jackson'_ was a common thought.

Percy nodded, impressed at how strong they were. Stopping Theo midair by wrenching control of the water from him, he sidestepped Perseus' dash by tilting his body sideways, tripping him and sending him sprawling onto the floor. "Not bad, you two. But I hope that isn't all." He released Theo, letting him fall to the ground as he watched Perseus drag himself to his feet, making the crowd go silent before cheering once more, this time for Percy.

Smiling at his namesake, Perseus shook his head. "You're stronger that I thought you'd be, Lord Perseus." Percy shook his head. "Percy is fine. I hate titles." At this point, his friends had come to view the spar as well, Artemis having already left, and they could only shake their head at him.

Well, despite knowing they were outmatched, the two weren't quite ready to quit. Theo made an ice copy of his hatchet out of the water puddle his armor had become. Perseus, seeing his friend start up an attack, decided to go with his own.

Striking at Percy's position with lightning, he, along with the whole crowd, was shocked as Percy just raised his hand, blocking a bolt of lightning like it was simple. They were further shocked as Percy raised his other hand to Theo, who just began to charge him, shooting out an even stronger one, hitting him right in the chest.

As Theo lay on the floor, spasming, Percy melted his ice hatchet and brought it to encircle Perseus' neck, trapping him. "Well, boys, I think that's my win." His eyes shone slightly with mirth no one in camp had seen in a while. Applause began to pour in as the match was officially over. "Who knows, maybe next time you'll make me move both feet. Maybe even move from where I started."

When he pointed it out, everyone stopped clapping and gaped, realizing that, indeed, they only made him move one foot from where it started, and that was only to trip Perseus. Clarisse was the first person to speak. "No way. Those two were our best." Piper nodded, still looking at Percy in shock.

As Theo recovered from his seizure, Percy released Perseus from his trapped position in the water wring, returning the water to the atmosphere. As the two approached him, he smirked. "So, did you have fun?"

Perseus scowled lightly while Theo chuckled before responding for both of them. "If you can have fun while getting the crap kicked out of you, then yes, I'd say we did." Perseus looked at him before nodding reluctantly and giving just about the same response.

Percy laughed at the two. "Well, I'm gonna go catch up with some old friends. Make sure you two keep training; I want a better match next time I'm around." He turned and waved at them as he walked towards his friends, the crowd dispersing while sending glances at Percy and whispering.

"Hey guys! Been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about not visiting." They all stared at him a moment, not believing he just said that. "What!? I said I was sorry! Tartarus kinda slows you down." They just stared at him for a while longer, not believing that he was saying that.

Percy turned his head to the side with a "Hmph!", crossing his arms over his chest. "Fine, be that way! I guess I'm not sorry about visiting!" The Stolls were the first to crack up, but the rest weren't far behind. Even Chiron began to chuckle, though he had a few tears in his eyes.

As everyone came down, Chiron trotted up to him and, after kneeling down, gave Percy a hug. "Percy, my boy..."

Percy had frozen up at the hug, not used to much contact besides his general groping from Kelli. He played it off as surprise, though. Wrapping his arms around Chiron as well, he let himself enjoy the feeling of warmth. The last time he remembered getting a hug was when Nico broke down in front of him.

Once Chiron finished, he stepped back and took Percy in. "My, how you've grown, child..."

Percy could only chuckle and rub his neck, embarrassed at the attention he was receiving. Thankfully for him, he didn't start blushing. "Well, I wanted to here how things had been up here, so how's about we get going on that." When Chiron still held him, as though he would disappear, Percy sighed. "I'm real, Chiron. I've returned from Tartarus before, you know."

At that, Chiron let go, shaking his head at Percy. "Only you, Percy."

* * *

At dinner, Percy entered the pavilion, looking at his old table with an indiscernible look as everyone got seated around him, even the gods, the minor gods having arrived a while back. As he stared, he saw a projection of Annabeth and him sitting there, the cupcake she and Tyson had made.

Despite all his bravado, every time he thought of their first kiss, he wanted to break something. Everything around him faded to black, leaving only the image of his past, of a happier time for him. The time he was truly at peace with his life, when he was content on that instant with Annabeth, connecting for the first time... it was a bit too much for him.

A single tear fell from his face as he was turning around, exiting the dining area. Everyone was confused as to why he was leaving, as he let none of the emotions within him show on his face, but Artemis caught the tear that fell from his face.

Sighing, she looked around, making sure no one was really paying attention to her, and got up to go after him. She was stopped by Zeus, though. "Where are you going, Artemis?"

Not wishing to lose track of him, she quickly thought up an acceptable reason, not even bothering to stop walking. "To stop Perseus from doing something stupid." Zeus, thinking she knew something he didn't, just nodded, letting her be.

After Artemis stepped outside, she saw Percy walking through camp, winds slowly picking up around him. He was walking down the river that lead from the lake in camp to the ocean when Artemis spotted him, though she felt the winds long before then. He was almost to the ocean, having left a little while back.

Jogging up to him while becoming her older form on reflex, an arm in front of her face to block the dust that was beginning to get kicked up from the winds, she called out to him. He whipped around, shocked, but that didn't compare to the shock Artemis was feeling when she saw him.

Well, more specifically, his eyes. They were back to being a normal sea green, like they used to be, but that wasn't the shocker. Percy's eyes always showed his emotions. When he was happy or amused, they'd sparkle. When he was angry, they'd glow. When he was sad, falling into despair, they'd dim. Right now, it was like they couldn't make up their mind. One moment they're bright as a sea green sun, the next, they looked like he was becoming a child of Athena, dull grey with only the barest hints of green visible.

She noticed his hair was back to how it was before, the grey streaks in his hair completely visible. Then she saw his tattoo, glowing an eerie black.

All the while, as she took in his appearance, the winds had been getting stronger, storm clouds gathering overhead. Snapping out of her revere when she saw him keep walking, she called him again. "Perseus!"

He stopped in his tracks for the second time, though this time he responded, though his voice came out in a bit of a hiss. "Yes, Artemis?" She couldn't help but flinch back at the tone in his voice, even knowing she wasn't the cause of this.

Steeling herself, she began to walk towards the water, seemingly trying to stop the waves that were coming at her. Percy, momentarily distracted from his feelings, made a conscious effort to stop the winds making them slow to halt as she walked on the water, reaching him somewhat shakily.

When she reached him, she stared for a moment before sucker punched him in the stomach. Oddly, he didn't even react beyond looking on, somewhat amused. "You called me, Artemis?"

She looked at him in surprise, before hardening her gaze. "What do you think you're doing, Perseus!?"

His eyes regained their look, bringing him back to the state he was in. The winds began to swirl around them once more. He averted his eyes from her before turning around and restarting his trek. "I'm blowing off some steam. Go back; I'll be there in a few minutes." His wings, midnight black right now, sprouted from his back as he began to walk away.

With a glance backwards, he made a path of ice back to shore, giving her am easy way back as he took off, going rather far away, though she only felt the winds return, stronger than before. Sighing, she returned to her normal, 12 year old form and made her way back down the path, watching as it broke down behind her.

Walking back into the dining area, she found that they'd been waiting for her to begin. Zeus, thinking she'd brought him back, began speaking. "Now we may begin. To the- where is Perseus, daughter?"

When all eyes turned to her, she made sure to ignore the questions that came with them, wondering why she would know. "He is, ah, "blowing off some steam" at the moment, Lord Zeus. He promised to return in a few minutes, when he's done. He was going out over the ocean, last I saw."

Zeus nodded. "Okay, we shall begin without him. To the-" This time, he wasn't cut off by a person, but by roaring winds, barely audible but growing stronger at an oddly fast pace. "What is that noise?" He looked to Poseidon, thinking he had a hand in this, but in his eyes, he saw nothing but confusion.

The widening of Artemis' eyes was the only explanation they got as she dashed out of the mess hall, heading towards the ocean. As the winds grew in intensity, and they noticed trees beginning to bend, they all headed outside, concerned.

What they found was Artemis staring off in the distance, astonishment plain to see on her face. As they followed her line of sight, they, every god, demigod, dryad, naiad, satyr, centaur, etc., joined her in said state.

Over the ocean was what looked like a hurricane, though that may have been an understatement. From what they could tell, the eye of the hurricane was at least ten miles away, but it was hard to judge distance on such a magnitude. It easily covered them in a dense cloud, rain beginning to fall heavily on them.

That was enough to snap them back to reality, watching the funnel like shape get larger and larger. Zeus looked over to Poseidon, fear evident in his eyes. Shouting over the winds, he asked, "ARE YOU DOING THIS, POSEIDON!?"

He got a shake of the head as a response. "I CAN'T MAKE SOMETHING THIS STRONG AT THE DROP OF THE HAT, ZEUS!"

They were interrupted in their shouting by Artemis. "IT'S PERSEUS! HE TOLD ME THIS MIGHT HAPPEN, BUT I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD BE THIS BAD!" Focusing on Poseidon, she shouted even louder, the winds having increased. "CAN YOU STOP IT, UNCLE?"

She got a shake of the head as her response, making her worry. Thinking about her options for a few seconds, she looked at both her uncle and father. "LORD ZEUS, UNCLE POSEIDON! TRY AND HOLD BACK THE WINDS AS BEST YOU CAN!" As the winds calmed down a bit around the group of demigods, she took off in a dead sprint, running across the water much to the shock of everyone there, mainly the hunter, the Poseidon cabin, Poseidon himself, and Zeus.

Zeus looked at Poseidon, his normal bravado absent due to his shock. "Did you know she could do that?" Poseidon just stared at her as she got smaller and smaller, approaching the funnel. He didn't even answer verbally, just shook his head.

* * *

This whole time, Percy had just been in the sky, miles off shore, thinking to himself. The massive natural disaster whirling around him barely registered for him, his thoughts more focused on Annabeth. By that point, he'd already been thinking for a while, his thoughts having died down a bit. _'Why can't I just... forget about her.'_

Purge, his ever present but lazy as all hell voice in his head, decided to help him out. _'Well, everything at that camp reminds you of her. It makes sense you can't just forget about her if everything in your surroundings are constantly reminding your time together.'_ Percy could only sink further in on himself at that.

Sighing as he began to despair, he made an excessively strong flap of his wings, unknowingly bombarding the camp with (more) hurricane force winds. _'Well, I refuse to let her actions cripple me. Controlling my emotions was the first thing I had to learn, and she's throwing all of that practice out the window.'_ He didn't get any advice from Purge that time, making him think that he had no advice to give.

 _'Well, I guess I'm on my own for this one... Fucking fatal flaws. If memory serves, mine is loyalty. How ironic, as I place no trust in people's so called "loyalty" anymore. Changes the moment an easier path comes along, at least for demigods.'_ Shaking his head, he brought himself back on topic. _'I can't just distract myself from this anymore!... Maybe I could just kill_ her...'

For a while, he legitimately pondered the idea. _'No, no. That wouldn't solve anything, only cause more problems... Maybe I should just talk to her about it... No, she has a silver tongue.'_

He then got a bright idea from Purge. _'Well, how about you just think about it for a while? A before and after, you know? To be honest, if she hadn't done that, all your friends would've outlived you by eons, you would never have had the chance to meet all of the Protegenoi and Titans, not to mention help out the monster. Shit, you would've never been hired to protect the hunters!'_ He had to agree there.

Then he thought for a moment. _'Well, I do enjoy working with the hunters, despite their hate, as annoying as it is. And then there's Artemis... not sure if that part is good or not.'_

As the winds began to die down, a laugh from Purge was his response. _'Why? 'Cause you're getting attached? C'mon, Perce! It isn't that bad! Just go with the flow, bro.'_ Those words were what made him freeze.

 _'Hell. Fucking. No. I'm neutral in this world, and you know that! Backing up my friends is one thing, but what you're suggesting...'_ He shook his head as the winds picked up again, reflecting his inner turmoil. _'No. I refuse to cause another Annabeth. The moment I start, I KNOW the fates will find a way to fuck it up. That is my fate.'_ Purge's scoff was the last thing he was able to make out as another voice rang out.

"PERCY!" Opening his eyes for the first time since the hurricane began to form, he saw Artemis, looking to be 18 again, on the water below him. In the eye of his own personal hurricane, things were calm, meaning that she didn't need to contend with the winds. At the same time, they were surrounded by clouds, so she was soaking wet, making Perseus force back a blush.

Descending gracefully, he landed on the water, his wings still outstretched. As Artemis approached him, he felt alarms go off in his head, a sixth sense developed through years of studying people telling him that something was off.

He was proven to be correct as, the moment she got within a foot of him, she took a swing. As he dodged backwards, he could hear Pontus, Thalassa, AND Purge laughing at him. Looking down, he started shouting at the water. "Now is NOT the time, you two!" _'Unfortunately, I CAN'T get rid of you, Purge.'_ In a surprising show of power, he managed to block the two out, preventing them from sensing anything within a section of their domain, a section he occupied.

Looking back up at Artemis, noticing that she was panting, he gave her a questioning look, his eyes having returned ti their rainbow state after he went through all his anger and rationalized his feelings with Purge. She just growled and crossed her arms, staring at him for a while before answering, making him get nervous.

When she finally addressed him, she sighed, dropping her arms. "You had the world's biggest hurricane going a few moments ago, Perseus. It took me forever to get here at top speed, yet you would've destroyed camp if you'd continued."

Now, Percy was shocked at this. "Uh, I only had a small one going on to help release some anger. I'm not sure what YOU'RE talking about." The hardening of her eyes was his only warning as a knife came sailing at his head.

Catching it between his finger reflexively, he could only sigh. "Okay, what is it?"

She growled at him. "Well, maybe you had A LOT more anger that you thought, because, before I left, TREES WERE BEGINNING TO BEND!" Percy's confused face was all she needed as an explanation. "You did all of that... by ACCIDENT!" Her hand and face impacted with a loud boom as the clouds around them dissipated. "My father is gonna have a fit."

Percy could only laugh sheepishly. "Sorry?"

She just looked at him angrily before letting it drop once more, seemingly too tired to pursue the matter. "I'm *pant* not the *pant* one you should be *pant* apologizing to. *pant* *pant* Hades, *pant* I don't know if *pant* an apology *pant* will even come close *pant* to being enough." She began grumbling as best she could as she began walking back to the camp, only to stumble, her foot dipping into the water a bit.

Percy looked on, concerned as her panting got worse by the time she got up. It suddenly dawned on him. "You're not used to these powers yet, are you?" She gave him a look that said "NO REALLY!?" before she fell to one knee.

Getting back up a Percy approached her, she put up a strong front, not wanting to appear weak in front of him. "Let's go." She took off running before Percy could protest, so he just sighed and followed.

As they ran at a somewhat slow, by BOTH their standards, pace, Percy noticed that she'd stumble every so often, slowing down. She even fell down completely twice, but brushed his help off. When she recovered from another stumble, bringing them to a brisk walking pace, she fell forward, utterly exhausted.

When Percy appeared in front of her, she didn't deny his support this time, just accepting it with wordless thanks. As she began to push off once more, seeking to finish on her own power. The moment she left him, she began to fall again.

He was in front of her in an instant, this time facing away from her in a crouch. As she fell onto him, he got up, grabbing her legs. She was forced to hold onto his neck or fall backwards, and she did the former, choosing to not get soaked beyond her current state.

With as much anger as she could muster at that moment, she tried to yell at him, though it didn't come out like one. "What *pant* *pant* the *pant* *pant* Hades!"

Percy just ignored her and began running at a light pace. She grit her teeth and tried to squeeze his neck to make him put her down, but she was too weak at that moment to put up much of a fight. Percy noticed the attempt, though, and sighed. "You're too tired to travel right now, so I'm doing it for you. Accept it, 'cause I ain't letting you drown yourself." With that, he fell silent once more.

Artemis, as thankful as she was, didn't want to rely on him. Sadly, she WAS too tired at that moment, so she decided to let it slide so she could take a while to rest. An uncharacteristically cute yawn escaped her lips as she leaned forward, burying her chin in the space between his shoulder and neck. "Slow down." It was a simple command, one which he followed easily, slowing to a somewhat fast walk.

With the running over, he noticed something he would rather not be the case: Artemis. More specifically, he noticed her body pressing into his from behind, specifically her breast. As he walked, he tried to not focus on the feeling, he really did, but failed. "Could you become a twelve year old again, Arty? It's..." It was then that he noticed she was out cold, her breathing having evened out a little while back.

Resigning himself to the awkward travel, he kept walking towards camp. Purge to the opportunity to tease him. _'Oh no! What ever will you do, with breast pressed into your back!? Woe unto thee!'_ A quick _'Shut up, Purge.'_ was enough to end that, but the small blush that covered his face, if only for a few seconds, was enough.

Looking up, he glared at the sky, knowing that the Primordials were watching him, somehow. "I will find a way to block your vision. And when I do, I will laugh. Laugh in your faces. I will enjoy it far more that I should, but I won't care about that and laugh some more." He swore he could here Nyx laughing at him in her dark way, Erebus' chilling laughter not far behind. "I WISH ACHERON HADN'T LET YOU OUT!" The laughter only grew.

* * *

Making his way on shore, he saw that everyone was staring at him, something that was becoming a common occurrence. He laughed sheepishly, but before he could say a thing, he started getting cheers from the Poseidon cabin, each of them beyond impressed by the storm he just made. Even Poseidon had an impressed look on. "Good job, son. I think we need to have a storm off sometime... after you finally have that surfing contest with me.

Percy just laughed nervously once more before confessing something that made Poseidon's jaw drop. "To be honest with you, I was only intending to make a small one to blow off some steam. I didn't even notice that it grew so big; it only felt like it grew a bit." Poseidon stared at him in shock before laughing.

Once he finished, he pat Percy on the shoulder that didn't have Artemis, choosing that one by pure coincidence. "Never mind on the storm off; I feel like you'd win if that felt small to you."

Zeus broke in at that moment, his eyes narrowed slightly. "It's great that you two are so relaxed about this, but I would much rather know WHAT THE TARTARUS WAS THAT!" Many of the camper mumbled an approval.

Shifting in place, Percy looked down. Zeus, who'd moved right in front of him, continued on, his eyes widening. "AND WHY ARE YOU CARRYING MY DAUGHTER!?" When he said it, everyone noticed, their eyes widening right along with Zeus'.

Percy resumed his nervous laughter, trying to shake Artemis awake. What he got didn't help his situation. She blearily opened her eyes a crack, groaning. "Five more minutes..." She then proceeded to press herself into him further, making him blush lightly.

Forcing it down a moment after it appeared, though it was too late, as it was seen, he began to try and talk his way out of this situation, the hunters' murderous gaze doing nothing to help. "Ah, yes. Well... my bad?" Zeus did not look amused.

* * *

A/N: And that's a wrap, people. I decided to keep this chapter short, since I'm actually working on my other story with some major concepts going on in the background that I have to make sure I don't screw up. Seriously, it's annoying when you wanna put an idea in your story but you can't because of your other ideas. I have to sort those things out and get that typed, but I figured I may as well take a break from that story and indulge you guys. I typed this all in one day, so I hope it's pretty good, because I spent a good few hours on it. Enjoy!... Or not. I have no power outside my stories.


	5. Such Cute, OMG!(Sorry, I had to)

A/N: Guess who's back? Back aga-?...Wait, I think I already used that intro... crap. Well, whatever. I think I'll take a little break from my other story, since it already had 130K+ words already. Time to give this story some lovin'!

* * *

Percy looked at Zeus' face and a thought occurred to him. _'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a damn second here. What on Gaea am even the slightest bit nervous for? He can't shock me without hurting Artemis and I can just block it anyway. Besides, I'm that strongest thing here, bar none, and I'm not even being cocky.'_

Focusing on Zeus with renewed confidence, he spoke calmly and evenly. "Well, seeing this place brought back some memories and caused some thoughts that weren't too pleasant. Especially concerning Annabeth." Oddly, he found it easier to say her name than before, as if the storm had blown away some of the hurt. He completely ignored the hurt look she gave him.

Zeus looked at him suspiciously, not really believing him. "So that excessive storm was because you were... upset?"

Nodding in confirmation, he responded. "Yup. That's why I trained to control my emotions from the moment I gained extra powers. This just kinda... threw me off. Don't worry, though; it won't happen again. I feel like I've moved on."

At that, Zeus' eyes flashed dangerously, his eyes darting to his daughter on his back and his mind making assumptions. "And my daughter?" Impressively, he was able to keep anything beyond suspicion and a bit of anger out of his voice.

HERE, Percy got a bit nervous. He knew the look of a father worried for their child. When they were as possessive as Zeus, they'd fight tooth and nail to protect them, even against someone they had no chance against, logic be damned.

Percy had to stop for a moment and think of how to rationalize Zeus' thoughts; there wasn't even anything going on! "W-well, she's not used to any of her new found hydrokinetic abilities." Zeus blinked at him for a moment, showing that he was in no mood for fancy words.

Percy rolled his eyes a moment, glad for the distraction from his light anxiety despite its stupidity. "She can control water to a degree. Anyway, we only found out she could do that about a week ago, so it's impressive she could run on water at all by this point. R-right now, she's just exhausted beyond words; she was out like a light before we were even in sight." Despite himself, he chuckled, putting some of Zeus' assumptions to rest.

With that matter sorted out, Percy looked to Thalia before gesturing to Artemis. "Could you put her in her cabin? I doubt she'll be waking up anytime soon, so she may as well get a bed." She nodded, but as they tried to get Artemis off his back, her grip on his neck tightened and her legs locked around him.

Thalia looked surprised before snickering at him. "I think she found a bed she likes, Percy." She only proceeded to laugh at him when his eye began to twitch.

Percy, on the other hand, was glad he was prepared to stop the oncoming blush, though he could do little but ignore Purge's laughter. Nor could he stop Aphrodite's squeal. Nor her entire cabin's squeal. Sighing, he looked at Zoe pleadingly, only to get a shrug in response. "What do you want me to do? Milady is much stronger than I." Percy himself tried tugging, only making it worse as Artemis' grip tightened. With that, Percy just decided to leave her.

"Whatever. Let's just go eat; I'm starving right now." He ignored the adoring look he began getting from Aphrodite and her cabin as best he could as they walked towards the mess hall. All the while, he was sending scathing looks at the sky, KNOWING that they were watching him. A mumbled "Assholes." was the only verbal recognition he gave the spying Primordials, and probably even Titans, though.

As they made it to the mess hall, the gods, or more specifically, Zeus dedicated the meal to themselves, much to Percy's amusement, and they ate.

As they ate, Percy stood, not wanting to push his luck with the hunters at the moment and not really feeling like he fit in with the Poseidon cabin anymore. He couldn't even lean against the wall with the still sleeping Artemis on his back. Finishing his food quickly, he walked over to Zeus to ask him something. "Will the CtF match still proceed?"

Zeus, who just finished a square of ambrosia, looked up at him. "From what I've been informed of, it was supposed to be you and Artemis against the campers, yes? How do you intend to do this with her still... attached to you." He narrowed his eyes at Percy, not liking his daughter being THAT close to Percy, even if he did approve of him being the guardian.

Percy just rolled his eyes. "I can move at the speed of light for a while, or just outright block my flag with magic ice that none of the demigods are strong enough to break, regardless of if they're in the Poseidon cabin. I can make it blindingly bright, surround it with poison, non lethal of course, or a number of other things. I don't think you realize just how outmatched the demigods were when they chose to face me. I'm not being cocky, I'm just being realistic here."

Zeus just stared at him in shock. "W-well, maybe we should just skip the game all together, then. It's not really fair."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you care about fair?" As Zeus was going to answer, he was cut off. "Never mind on that. It's just about impossible to stop me from winning this for the sheer fact that I can keep up with Ouranos in speed. There was no "fair" the moment they chose me. Just let it happen. Besides, it'll be a good lesson in humility and on how much farther they have to go."

Zeus thought for a moment before nodding. "Well then, do as you will, nephew." The members of the Zeus cabin that heard the conversation were already disheartened, but wisely chose not to share the information with their team. Especially when they saw Percy's eye twitch at being called nephew.

* * *

8:30 pm - Capture the Flag Match Begins

* * *

As Percy heard the horn that signaled the game had begun, he glanced at Artemis, who stirred slightly but didn't wake. "Fucking hell. I guess I'm going without wings this time." Then, he realized something else. "FUCK! I can't even fight properly like this... well, I guess I'm gonna have to go stealth mode for this one. Gonna be boring as all Tartarus, though."

His eyes trailed to his flag, which was on a large rock, Zeus' fist to be exact. Concentrating slightly, he made it float a few feet off the ground before encasing it in a layer of super-heated water. Not hot enough to kill, but to leave some nasty burns. Then, focusing on his power of time, he put a layer of ice around it, making it so that it wouldn't melt.

A few feet away from the rock, he made 3-4 foot spikes pop out of the ground using his control over earth, making sure they looked as sharp as they were... so they looked really sharp. Observing his work so far, he had to wonder what he was missing. _'Ah, yes. Some poison. Now, should I go paralytic or just plain painful?'_

Realizing that he really shouldn't spend so much time waiting around, he just went for both. _'I'll dial it back on the pain, though.'_ Settling on the poisons he wanted, he began to let them pour into a depression in the ground infront of and behind the spikes. _'Tetrodotoxin in a nonlethal concentration, diluted with some magic water to be sure, and some platypus_ _venom_ (It's a thing.) _in the mix behind the spikes, in case they get nicked by the spikes when trying to get over them... maybe I should put a wind trap under the flag too? Yeah. I don't like the chance of losing to these demigods.'_ Focusing on the area beneath the flag, he wove a quick spell to make a gust of wind push anyone who got near the flag down towards the poison.

 _'Thanks you Achlys. Poison is rather useful.'_ Satisfied with himself, he took to the air, reminding himself of Jason as he controlled the winds to fly instead of using his wings. He saw a group of Zeus kids in the distance trying to stealth their way to him, flying over head. _'Smart. Not gonna work, but smart.'_ He proceeded to bend the darkness of the night sky around him, making himself even more invisible than he would be in his camouflaged clothes.

Flying around them, Percy snickered as one of them looked around, confused. _'Looks like one of them was paying pretty good attention. Too bad, though.'_ He looked down and saw their flag after a few more moments in the air and smiled.

As he prepared to go light-speed, he realized something. _'SHIT! I can't do that with Arty here piggybacking right now...'_ Looking down, he realized that, while many of the demigods were gone, the sheer amount of them made it that there was a large amount of them that were still there. _'I'm not in the mood nor a good state for this crap. Just gonna stealth this part too.'_

Taking off his cloak of darkness(A/N: I feel so geeky just typing that.) he bent the light around him, knowing that, even though it was a bit more concentration intensive when it was dark out, it would hide him better with the torches and such they had.

Diving in, he landed next to the flag, not a soul noticing a thing was off as they scoured the forest for him. _'Perfect.'_ Quickly grabbing the flag, he took off, going rather high so no one would notice him. As he touched down on his side of the creek, he heard some screams coming from his flag, and some shouts of surprise coming from their's. Lifting the flag above his head, he laughed out loud, removing his camouflage. "I WIN! Woohoo!"

The gods had been looking on in shock, Zeus having created seating for them in the sky. They saw Percy appearing and disappearing, creating poison and molding the earth to his whim, even performing magic, something they didn't think he could even do.

As he looked up at them, he just told them to call the match.

* * *

9:00 pm - Amphitheatre

* * *

Percy had purged any lingering poison from the system's of the demigods who were fast enough to get to his flag before he won and dumb enough to touch the suspicious liquids surrounding his flag. When everyone was seated, Zeus quieted them down. "Demigods! As things have dragged on longer than expected, we shall speak with you tomorrow. For now, just know that, tomorrow, many things may change for some of you, sadly." On that ominous note, he thundered out, the sound rolling across the fields as he was struck by a bolt of lightning and left. The other gods just rolled their eyes and flashed out, sans Artemis, who was still stuck to Percy's back, sleeping soundly.

They proceeded to start a singalong, which Percy promptly got away from, not making a sound. Not that he had anything against singing, but he didn't like BAD singing... and there were way too many demigods for there not to be at least a few of those.

Entering Artemis' cabin, went to a bed that didn't have one of the hunters' bags near it. Looking around, he noticed that the beds were arranged neatly on each wall, though the walls were farther apart that they should be, if you were to judge the size from outside.

Shrugging his shoulders, putting the discrepancy down to magic, he proceeded to walk around the deceptively large cabin, looking for a bed that wasn't taken. Choosing one, he sat down and tried to pry Artemis hands off of his neck. Every time he pulled, Artemis' face would gain an unhappy look and she'd pull harder, trapping him. He began to panic. _'Okay, when did she get this strong!?'_

Calming down, he thought aloud for a moment. "Okay, maybe I just wake her up for a bit. She was asleep for long enough, I think." He began to shake her, trying to get her to wake up. "Artemis, oh Aaaartyyyy." She stirred, giving him hope as she blearily opened her eyes.

"Hm?" was her drowsy response.

He smiled, thinking he was making progress, not even noticing that the hunters were filing in, having had enough of the singing. "You have to let go of me, Arty." He didn't even notice as Thalia shushed the hunt, watching on in silence.

Artemis, on the other hand, furrowed her brow. "Why?"

Percy could only stare at her for a moment, shocked. "B-because I have to sleep! Besides, your hunter will kill me if you're there any longer than you have to be. There's a bed right below you; just let go and go back to sleep, alright?"

The fact that she stopped to think made Percy worry, but he didn't let it show through the pleading expression he was giving her. When she responded, he almost cried. "No. You OWE me after you left me in the throne room with the others. I think I'm justified in this." She then proceeded to just go back to sleep, leaving a mortified Percy and a shell shocked hunt.

Percy, not even noticing the hunt, just put his face in his hands, groaning. "Okay, Percy, excuse time. Why am I shirtless with their mistress on my back when there's a bed right here?... The truth?... No, they won't believe that... Fuck, I got nothin'." He was brought out of his moping by a sound in front of him. His head snapped up, a bit of fear in his eyes.

What he saw made him sigh in relief more than anything. Thalia was struggling to contain her laughter, and was beginning to fail which was what he heard. Zoe was containing hers much better, but she was still struggling. Even Phoebe was having a bit of a hard time containing hers, her lips twitching and a smile on her face.

Collecting himself, he looked at them. "I'm gonna hope the fact that you're laughing means you're not here to kill me." The five little girls he'd recruited personally nodded in sync, something Percy still found odd, but had gotten used to while those laughing just let it go. Even Phoebe broke into guffaws.

Sadly, the rest of the hunters, about 12 strong, were still staring at him distrustfully but understanding that he had little choice. Percy, noticing this, rolled his eyes before asking the group something specifically. "Okay, I have one big question." Pointing at the group, he continued. "What am I doing that's making you distrust me so much?"

They were so surprised that he even asked that none of them came up with an answer immediately. Then one of the stepped forward. "You're male. That's enough for you not to be trustworthy." Percy was shocked at the blatant sexism, but even further surprised when the hunters behind her nodded. Even Phoebe and Zoe gave a gesture of acknowledgement, though Zoe's didn't really convey much approval.

Percy sighed before doing something that shocked them. He snapped his fingers and, before their eyes, his body began to shift. His hair lengthened, going down over Artemis' back. His face got a bit rounder, his rather defined face softening. His eyebrows became more pronounced and his skin looked softer than it was, and already looked rather soft.

On his chest, his pectorals began to grow, filling out until they became a rather decent C-Cup. His waist began to shrink, keeping their defined muscles but becoming more... feminine, and his waist grew a bit. Not overly so, but enough to be noticeable.

Looking up at them with eyes narrowed, he... SHE began to speak, a melodious voice that was Percy's yet not at the same time ringing into the silence. "And now I'm not, yet nothing about ME has changed. I hope you know that, while men being sexist to women isn't a good thing, you being sexist to men isn't helping anything. Two wrongs rarely make a right, and this isn't one of those time, girls."

Flexing HER hand in front if her face, she kept going. "I'm just as strong as I was, just as fast as I was. I'm just as smart as I was, just as nice as I was... and just as mean as I was. There is no difference; I haven't become more trustworthy by changing genders, nor have I become less trustworthy. All you have to back up your claims is negative experiences with some men." Shifting back with a thought, though he shivered slightly at the feeling, he looked at them dead in the eyes, one after another.

"I've had a girl betray me, yet you don't see me thinking ALL girls will do that to me, now do you? Think of Aphrodite, always cheating on Hephaestus. Do I think EVERY girl will cheat because of her? Absolutely not. You need to accept that the actions of one person don't speak for the actions of another. This is reality, girls. The rules you try to apply, the labels and preconceptions, will likely never apply to everything in a set, especially when we're ALL unique. Never forget that."

He just kept staring at them, his intense rainbow eyes and powerful voice making them feel tiny for a while. But he didn't say another word, he just kept staring at them, watching them squirm uncomfortably as the began to comprehend his words, feel the truth behind them.

Finally one of them snapped. It was the one who spoke originally. "S-Sorry, Lord Perseus."

He sighed, making her think she'd done something wrong. "I'd have thought you girls have been around me long enough to know I hate being called Lord... or Perseus for that matter, but apparently, I must repeat myself. Don't call me that! Percy is much preferred. All I did was give you a better world view.

"Oh, and for the record, many men WILL hurt you, so you're view wasn't completely unjustified, just far too exclusive. Women will do the exact same thing. Believe me. Now, go ahead and do whatever you girls do before you sleep; my headphones are magic so I won't hear a thing." With that, he pulled some headphones out of nothing before placing them on his head, pulling out a phone and turning it up to the max. Oddly, even with his music playing, they heard nothing coming from him.

The next morning, Percy was meditating before all the hunters woke up. As they woke up one by one, stretching, Artemis woke up as well. The first thing she noticed was that she was on Percy's back. The second thing was that Percy was in her cabin without the hunters having killed him. The third thing was that she was still on Percy's back.

Feeling Artemis FINALLY waking up, he turned off his music before turning around, his voice drawing the attention of everyone else. "Sleep well, Arty?" She just glared at him before getting off, a light blush on her face.

As she stood up, stretching, she went back to her normal form. _'As a matter of fact, that was one of the best nights I have ever had, but you'll never know that.'_ Instead, she looked at him a moment, thinking of something to say. "You're a crappy pillow, you know that?"

He chuckled. "You sure that's what you think? Because I seemed to be a luxury suite for you last night. Ha!" His response was a fist to the face and an embarrassed "Shut up!" from Artemis, which only made him laugh more.

Sighing, she didn't even have to turn around to feel Zoe struggling not to laugh at her. "Not a word, Zoe." It was a good thing Thalia wasn't a morning person.

Zoe just nodded. "Of course, milady. I doubt you can stop Aphrodite, though." Artemis just groaned at that, realizing she couldn't feasibly stop the insufferable love goddess from running her mouth without violence; her threats get her no where with Aphrodite nowadays.

Percy just got up and stretched, chuckling at her misfortune. He heard a few pops which made him cringe slightly. "As light as you are, it's still annoying to spend an entire night sitting up. Please don't make that a habit, Arty." She just kicked him in the shin and glared.

Ignoring the throbbing in his shin, he chuckled and headed over to a window, hopping out of it. "If you need me, just call and I'll be there." With that, he took to the trees, finding a good pine tree that he could just lay in and nurse his throbbing shin.

When Artemis exited her cabin, leading the hunters, she got a few stares, though they quickly stopped when they saw she was getting annoyed. Telling the hunter to go do as they pleased, she watched as the majority of them made a beeline for the archery range. Shaking her head, she went to the Big House to speak with Chiron.

Reaching there after a short jog, she went in and began their conversation.

A few hours later, after lunch, Artemis was entering the archery range when she began to get bored. Lowering her bow, she tried to find the beacon of divine power Percy usually was, but found nothing. She mumbled, "Did he leave?" but was shocked when a voice sounded behind her.

"Looking for me, Arty?" She whipped around, her heart in her throat. Regaining her breath, she became 18 again so he wasn't towering over her as they spoke. At that moment, the gods arrived, but the two paid them no mind as the demigods went to greet them, though they were quickly dismissed.

Artemis looked at him for a moment, thinking of how to word what she wanted. "Well, I was wondering where you were when I couldn't feel an excessive divine presence around here, not specifically looking for you. But, since you're here, Perseus, I want a rematch. Oh, and STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

He looked at her, amused as he went in front of a target. "Are you sure? I've had a lot of practice, you know."

Artemis just scoffed. "Oh, please. I've been practicing centuries before you were even a thought in your mothers mind."

Apollo showed up at that point, Aphrodite not far behind, coming to tease the two. Percy noticed Apollo, and smirked. "Yo, Apollo! Wanna be the ref? Arty here wants an archery match." Artemis glared at him slightly for the nickname before nodding at Apollo.

Apollo, on the other hand, just looked at her shocked. "You let him call you Arty... and not me!?" Percy only laughed as Artemis looked ready to kill, though which of them he could only guess.

Calming herself down, she shook her head. "No, he just refuses to stop."

Percy pointed something out that made her think twice. "Well, you just refuse to stop calling me Perseus, so it's fair. If you'd just call me Percy, you would've lost the nickname a while back, if dislike it as much as you claim. Though, your lack of change makes me think you DO like it."

She let an arrow fly past his face, though it didn't even faze him. Looking over to the amused Apollo, she scowled. "Just supervise the match already. We'll go for 30 seconds." He nodded, smiling as he went between the two targets.

"On your marks..." Percy took out his bow, nocking an arrow.

"Get set..." They both pulled back, their bow strings pulled tight.

"Go!" The moment they let it go, Aphrodite began to cheer for Percy, who she really wanted to beat Artemis in archery. To the demigods who'd gathered, it looked to be evenly matched, but this time, Percy decided to up the ante, thinking Artemis would be pushing herself to her limits this time. He even used his powers over time to speed up halfway through, just to make sure he didn't lose.

When Apollo shouted, "TIME!", Percy was looking at both their targets worriedly, seeing Artemis' own look like a couple porcupines were rolled onto the bulls-eye, losing their quills as they stuck. She had well over a hundred, possibly even 200 on hers.

Thankfully for them, the targets they used were created by Hephaestus to count how many arrows they fired into it after a period of time. Looking above Artemis', he saw a number shooting up, floating in midair. Eventually, it stopped on 214, making his eyes go wide and mouth gape. _'How in the fuck!? I am so glad I took you seriously here.'_

His own began tallying as well, the number shooting up just about as long as Artemis'. When it finally stopped, the number read 267. The clearing was silent for a good minute as everyone registered the numbers. Perseus, the son of Zeus, was the first person to speak. "No way... No flipping way... Artemis lost in an archery contest... to a demigod..."

As they were all taking it in, the Poseidon and Apollo cabins began cheering, while the hunters gave a respectful clap, as they would've preferred their mistress to win but couldn't deny the skill. Soon, the demigods who were there were all roaring with applause for both of them.

As Percy chuckled halfheartedly at their enthusiasm, he looked over to see Artemis still focused on their targets, her eyes wide. "H-how?"

Walking up to her, he waved his hand in front of her eyes a few times. "Oh, Arty? You in there?" That seemed to snap her of the trance as she smacked the hand away, looking at him annoyed but obviously impressed. Chuckling at her actions, he put out his hand. "Good match, eh?" She reluctantly shook hands with him, nodding.

The crowd only roared louder at the show of sportsmanship on both sides. Chiron came over to see what the commotion was, only to find Percy with a bow in his hand, and the target that seemed to be his with a higher number over it. "What's the proble-...There is no way..." Chiron passed out on the spot, not believing his eyes.

Everyone couldn't help but chuckle, even the hunters smiling at the old centaur.

Percy had forgotten all about Aphrodite, because she squealed and hugged him from behind. "That was amazing, Percy!" Artemis gained an annoyed look, but began to back away, releasing the handshake they'd forgotten about.

Well, she tried to. Percy, being Percy, didn't let go, an idea forming in his head. "That was, wasn't it? Well, I doubt Arty here believes so." He began to divert Aphrodite's attention to the mortified moon goddess, much to her very visible displeasure.

Artemis, still trying to get out of his grip, just smiled weakly. "No, no. It was amazing. I never thought I'd lose to anyone, but I guess I was wrong, huh?"

Aphrodite squealed in agreement, giving Percy a quick peck on the cheek before moving on to Artemis. She didn't notice him flinch slightly at the sudden gesture. "Yeah! I was so excited to see you face someone as skilled as he was." Percy then let go of her hand, slowly walking towards the forest, a devious smile on his face, though it didn't seem to reach his eyes.

Artemis glared at his back as he went before focusing on Aphrodite, who'd been yapping away the whole time, seeming to have finished one topic and went to another. She tuned back in at a random point, only catching the end of her last sentence. "-back feel?"

She blinked at her a moment before asking her to repeat the question. "Oh, don't play dumb with me, silly. I asked how your nap on his back felt."

Artemis forced down the light golden blush that threatened to explode on her face. "Oh, fine I guess." She then began to walk away, not wanting Aphrodite to go down that path.

Aphrodite was having none of that. She just began to walk along side Artemis as she attempted to stroll away. "Just fine!? I know it was more than that! C'mon, details!"

Artemis could only roll her eyes. "What more do you want? I was asleep, you know!?"

That made Aphrodite think for a bit. "Well, how did you sleep? How was the ride? Was it rough? Or was he gentle with you?" Artemis had enough of the questions.

Turning around to fully face Aphrodite, she looked her dead in the eye, which she could do because she forgot to go back to being twelve. "Listen here, Aphrodite. If you wanna know how the ride was, go find Percy and take one; I don't really care!" She noticed that a few demigods were looking at her snickering and looked at Aphrodite to find her smiling lightly.

Then she realized why. "Oh, get your mind out of the gutter, Aphrodite." With that, she turned away from the laughing love goddess and walked towards the forest, the place where she was most comfortable, ignoring Aphrodite's giggling behind her.

A few minutes after she walked into the forest, she heard singing. Male singing. Following the sound, she found Percy sitting, cross legged in front of a tree, a guitar in his lap.

She caught some of the lyrics. " -ause I'm broken, when I'm lonesome. And I don't-" He'd opened his eyes to see Artemis standing there, staring at him. Gently, he placed his instrument on the ground. "Oh, hey Arty! How long've you been there?"

Him addressing her broke her out of her trance. She feigned a lack of interest, trying to get back at him for leaving her with Aphrodite. "Oh, not long. I just wondered who'd be singing out here, and I follow the beautiful voice only to find you."

He put a hand over his heart. "Oh, you wound me so, fair Artemis. One would believe my handsome appearance working in tandem with my marvelous voice could convince thee to lessen thine hatred of yours truly, but alas." They both shared a laugh when he finished his little performance.

In the silence that followed, Artemis looked at him in a bit of confusion. "Since when did you play guitar? Since when did you sing, for that matter?"

Percy chuckled. "Oh, that? Apollo gave me a little something extra with the archery blessing. I thought it would be a waste if I didn't learn at least one instrument, you know? In the end, I learned five, but that's beside the point." Artemis just kept staring at him, not sure whether to be impressed at him learning five or not. He DID have a blessing helping.

Deciding to stay neutral, she shook her head at him. "Well, how about you keep playing? I came to the forest to relax, but if you're here, I doubt I'll get much of that done. May as well get some music."

Percy hesitated slightly. Whenever he actually played guitar, it was to relax or release some pent up emotion. It was something personal for him. In his head, Purge is giving him a big look of "Good fucking job, smart one." Then, he realized Percy couldn't see him, so he began talking. _'Well, good going, sir.'_ Percy gave a response that made far more sense than the accusation. _'How was I supposed to know she would ask to hear!?'_

He was brought back to reality when Artemis cleared her throat. Looking up, he rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, I'd rather not. Playing guitar is a bit personal for me. I play it when I want to relax or express a bit of emotion instead of letting it build up, like yesterday."

She nodded. "Well, talking about it helps."

He raised a brow at her for the comment. "Since when were you an expert on emotions?" Despite this being a good topic changer, he was legitimately curious.

It was her turn to be a bit uncomfortable. "W-well... don't tell anybody this, okay?"

He nodded. "I swear on the river Styx not to reveal any of this without you permission." Thunder boomed.

"Thank you. Well, back when Orion was... you know, around, I got a bit confused about him. He was the closest thing to romantic love I'd experienced, well, ever. I kept it bottled up, even after he died, and I became irritable and a bit moody. After I talked about it with Zoe, and then Aphrodite, I felt much better. Maybe that's what you need, though you really DID love the Athena girl, yes?"

Percy was just looking at her for a while. "So... you DIDN'T love Orion?"

Artemis seemed mortified at the thought. "Oh gods no! He may have been good at archery and hunting, but he was a horrible person, overall. Cocky, lecherous. He'd always stare at my hunters in a way that made us ALL uncomfortable and I caught him looking at my butt occasionally."

Percy just shrugged. _'Do I REALLY blame him for that last part?... Yeah, dude was an ass.'_ "Well, I guess it could've been worse, right?"

Artemis gave him a deadpan stare. "I found out, after I'd already put him in the sky, of course, that he tried to rape not one, not two, but three if my hunters." As Percy was about to respond, she cut him off. "And I'm certain he was eyeing me."

Well, Percy's eye darkened before a smile came over his face. "Well, I guess it's a GOOD thing he's in Tartarus right now, then." Artemis just looked at him shocked, prompting him to explain. "Well, I asked Ouranos if I could actually talk to him, and he said yes. We got along great and all, but then he began bragging about his "conquests". Personally, I didn't care much until he got to the rapes and how he almost got with a virgin goddess; THEN I dragged his ass into the pit. Ripped him right out of the sky."

Thankful, Artemis nodded at him. "Good. Now, I haven't forgotten about what we were originally talking about. Spill, Perseus." He looked at her silently, making her roll her eyes. "Fine, PERCY."

He nodded thankfully. "Finally! Now, gimme a moment to try and make this as private as possible." Before anything he flipped off the sky. "FUCK YOU GUYS! I FIGURED SOMETHING OUT! I WIN!" He ignored the odd look he was getting from Artemis.

First, he got rid of a chunk of the ground beneath them, supporting them with air though Artemis began to panic. "Don't worry, Artemis. This is all part of the plan." He then created a chunk of earth out of nothing below them, making sure it wasn't touching the earth itself. He created a buildup of electrons on the ground they sat on and the ground around them, creating a repulsive electromagnetic force between the Earth and his chunk of earth. This removed Gaea from the equation.

Then, as he maintained the electrons, he pushed all the air around them out and replaced it with air he made, removing half of Aether from their presence, though he had to constantly keep producing a small amount of fresh air for them to breathe.

Then, he created orbs of light within the vicinity to banish all shadow around them, removing most of Erebus. Plucking a piece off one of them, he ate it like a piece of candy, giving one to Artemis, though she looked at it suspiciously. "Don't worry, it's magic. I'm not here to kill you." Swallowing it, he felt the rest of Erebus' presence leave. As he was stopping foreign light from entering, he removed the last of Aether's presence as well.

After that was all said and done, Percy began to laugh maniacally. "I DID IT! I FINALLY FUCKING DID IT! Oh, my lungs!" When he was done, he realized how taxing it was to keep all of this going, thinking he could keep this up for an hour or two at most before he got a serious headache and case of exhaustion.

Looking to Artemis, he saw her looking at him rather confused. "Well, most of the Protogenoi find me SO interesting, so they've been turning my life into entertainment. As such, I've been trying to think of a way to get some gods damn privacy. In the end, I just have remove their domains from around me and I can do that. I can't really do much about Cronus and Ananke, but oh well. They aren't among the assholes normally anyway. Unfortunately, I'm maintaining this little world away from the world on my own power, so I'll probably only last and hour or two before I can't hold it anymore."

She just looked at him, thoroughly impressed. "Wow... Don't think for a moment that this is gonna get you out of telling me."

He nodded. "I figured as much. Now, where to begin... I think my problem is less that I can't move on from her and more that I can't deal with intimacy very well anymore now that I've laid that chapter of my life to rest as best I can. I mean, I have no problems teasing you like I do, but... like when Aphrodite kissed me on the cheek. That used to be something only my mom and Annabeth did, it was something a bit more special.

"I guess now I just have intimacy issues... you know, my fatal flaw was loyalty, right?" Artemis nodded, letting him talk it out. "Well, somehow, I think it's changed. Now, I think it's the inability to trust. Everyone who I'd faithfully defended managed to believe that I wasn't on their side. Combine that with Annabeth and I feel like that was a disaster waiting to happen. IS a disaster waiting to happen." He fell silent for a moment, giving Artemis a chance to ask him some questions.

"Well, who DO you trust? I mean, really trust. And don't say no one, because I know that's a lie."

Percy had to think, which made her worry. "Well, I guess I trust Purge. He's a voice in my head, though, so I'm not sure if he counts." He missed Artemis worried expression at the mention of him having voices in his head. "Beyond that, no one. Not the Primordials, not the Titans, not the gods, not the demigods. I feel like they'd all abandon me, if it came down to defending me or endangering themselves. Even you."

Now, Artemis was a bit hurt at his words, but she had to think. _'WOULD I abandon Perseus?'_ It took her a while to come up with an answer, which made her worry. "No, if it came down to it, I wouldn't abandon you."

Percy just sighed. "NO ONE thinks they'd abandon someone else, but this isn't something you can just say and know it to be true."

She shook her head. "I mean it, Perseus. You've saved my family time and again; I CAN'T abandon you."

He just chuckled mirthlessly. "That's what you say now. The big three chose to follow the rules, even though they break them all the time, allowing me to get thrown into Tartarus. My father meant it every time he said he loved me, yet it still happened, right? I'd saved Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, and their family, including you, by the way, yet they managed to abandon me. Do you see why I put no stock in your words? I've had two hundred years to work this out, Artemis. This is the truth."

Artemis had no response to that. And how could she. She'd been distrusting men on principle, yet here was Percy, going by experience. A shitty one at that. In the end, she just shook her head. "Just because one person abandoned you, it doesn't mean that the rest will. If you go through 100 people and 99 of them abandon you, you still can't say for certain that the 100th will. And for the record, I never thought you betrayed us, Perseus. I swear on the river Styx"

Percy was flabbergasted at this point. He could hear Purge laughing at him in his head. _'Wow, your own logic on sexism was used against you!'_ He didn't even try to defend himself, because he had no defense. "W-well, thanks... Arty."

Her eye began to twitch, diffusing the tension a bit. "Why are you still calling me that!?"

He smirked. "You called me Perseus." His face then got a look that spoke of nothing but suspicion. "I swear, if this was just a plan to get me to help the Olympians in... whatever is happening, forget it."

Artemis shook her head vigorously at that. "No, no. I can respect your reason... though it'd be great if you changed your mind."

The look Percy gave her just said, "Not gonna happen." Then, he sighed, deciding to give her a proper response. "Well, unfortunately, I'm still unable to fight for the Olympians in whatever's brewing. If I ally with you, that eliminates A LOT of future business..." At her look of slight disappointment, he decided to throw her a bone.

"But," he continued, her face perking up slightly, "you and your hunters are welcome to sit out of this war in its entirety under my protection. I KNOW Zeus will try and send them out to the front lines to get me out there without having to pay me whatever the cost of my services would end up being, and I assure, I am not cheap."

Artemis nodded, accepting his terms. "Well, I guess that's fair. But, earlier, I said that you saved my family. I meant the hunters."

Percy was a bit surprised but not overly so. "Oh, so the Olympians aren't your family?"

She shook her head. "By blood, but not beyond that. Maybe Apollo, Athena, and Hestia might fit, but I've always been a bit of an outcast. Not quite as bad as Hades, but still."

He was visibly surprised now. "Wait, what!? But Zeus loves you!"

Artemis shook her head again. "Well," she began explaining, "he's just really possessive of me, but, to be honest with you, he wanted to marry me off to someone like Heracles just to "protect" me. Then there's the rest of them. Dionysus is a pig, Hera is, well, a bitch, because I'm Zeus' child. Hephaestus is neutral, as is Demeter. Aphrodite is only interested in trying turn my life into a forbidden love story of some sort, Ares hates me for beating him in a fight a while back, Poseidon is nice enough, but he keeps his distance to not annoy my father.

"The only ones that I can really say are even remotely family are my brother, for obvious reasons, Hestia and Athena. I just feel a sense of kinship with them, being the other two virgin goddesses on Olympus, but it looks like Athena may change that soon."

Percy looked at her confused on the last part, but he was waved off. "Don't worry about it, Perseus. If it happens, you'll probably know about it." He just shrugged. It didn't matter all too much to him.

In the silence that over took them, Percy closed his eyes, thinking of what to talk about. He came up with nothing, so he got up. "Wanna spar? As good as those two demigods were, they were far too slow to have a chance. You're the fastest Olympian I know, Arty"

She smirked lightly, barely registering the nickname. "Flattery won't stop my from beating your face in, Percy." He looked surprised as she walked out of the clearing, heading towards camp. She called back "Race you!" as she took off.

Shaking his head, he took to the trees, following behind her quickly. _'I wonder if she didn't notice the nickname. I guess I just need to make more. Maybe shiny butt, no, bright ass, since she's the moon and to moon is to..."_ He got lost in his thoughts as he followed above Artemis, who dashed through the woods.

When they reached the edge of the forest, Percy just decided to go light-speed and appear there, still technically using raw speed to go there, so she couldn't claim that he cheated.

When he arrived, he regained his breath and looked around to find Aphrodite ogling Ares, who was currently showing off for her by fighting three demigods at the same time. When she noticed him, though, her attention was dragged away from the god of war, who was smirking, thinking he still had her attention.

"Hey, Percy!" She grabbed him in a hug, before releasing him before he could get really uncomfortable.

He chuckled lightly. "Hi."

She looked at him as sultrily as possible. "So, what brings you here? Come to "talk" to little ole me? Aw, I'm flattered. But we can go somewhere more private, unless you'd rather show everyone."

He took a step back from the goddess who was giving him a really rape-y vibe. "Uh, no. I'm just waiting for someone else. We have a spar, but-"

It was at that moment that the blur known as Artemis skidded into the sparring area, looking around with a smug smirk, only for her eyes to land on Percy and widen comically. "H-how did you get here before me? When did you even PASS me!?" She crossed her arms, glaring at him, though it held little actual anger behind it.

Percy just chuckled, leaving Aphrodite with a quick wave, making her pout before going back to paying attention to Ares. "You're so slow sometimes, Arty. I've been here, chatting with Aphrodite since I got here, waiting for you to hurry the hell up." He brought out both of his copies of Riptide, holding them at his sides as he strode to a spot across from Artemis, a few feet separating them.

She scowled, but the scowl broke as she took out her bow and, in an instant, was raining arrows down on Percy, who was deflecting them with relative ease, only using one sword.

Growling, she kicked it up a notch, going twice as fast. He still managed to keep his cool, deflecting them all with one sword. Finally, when she maxed out her speed, Percy humored her by using both swords, the air around him becoming a blur, covering his smirking face.

Eventually, Artemis quit with the arrows, realizing they weren't getting her anywhere. She took out her hunting knives and rushed him, not wanting to give him a chance to attack her.

She collided with him, sparks flying as their blades met. She began to slash away at him, never giving him a chance to attack as he had to defend his bare chest from getting slashed open.

Eventually, she managed a lucky hit, drawing some blood. Percy, growling lightly, sped up, forcing her in the defensive. She knew she couldn't back up, as, with knives, the further out you are against a weapon with larger reach, the more likely you were to be screwed over.

Fortunately for her, Percy decided to give her a break. Jumping back, he stuck both his swords in the ground, deciding to go at her with his hands. At this, she felt a bit insulted, so she made her displeasure known in the form of a renewed assault as he made a "Come Hither" motion with one hand.

She was surprised when she was disarmed in an instant. Her knives got stuck on the black material that surrounded his hands, before he ripped them away, throwing them to the side. He smirked at her. "Now it's fair."

She growled and began to send a barrage of fists at every vulnerable spot on his body. Every shot she took at his face was either dodged, deflected, or blocked. Every shot to his chest was blocked. Every swing at his abdomen was either blocked or outright taken, every time he hardened his muscles for the strike making her wince.

Eventually, she began to throw kicks into the mix, aiming to send him to the ground. Thankfully for Percy, he was able to block those as well, though he tried to dodge those more often.

After a few minutes of this, Percy caught one of her hands. She growled and tried to kick him in the side, though her leg was also caught. Before she could continue, her remaining leg was swept out from under her, sending her to the ground, though, in her surprise, she brought him down too.

Percy, going with the flow, stopped himself from falling on top of her by placing one hand next to her head, steadying himself. To end it, he placed a fist above her neck, showing that it was the end. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that she lost and pouted.

He grinned down at her. "Checkmate, Arty." She sighed, disappointed in herself as he got off her, making her blush lightly in recognition of their previous position. "Well, what was that about beating my face in earlier?"

She just stared at him for a bit, forgetting any previous embarrassment, before giving him a quick shot to the face, hitting him squarely on the nose. She smiled to herself as he held his nose, muttering curses at her.

It was then that she noticed many demigods had stopped their own spars and were staring at the two of them in awe, a few of them with phones out. "Uh, Percy?"

Annoyed, he rubbed his nose as he replied. "Yes?"

She flicked him on the forehead to get his full attention, which worked but annoyed him further, before gesturing around them lightly. "I think your fan-base just grew."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so this chapter was a bit uneventful, but I felt like the development was enough to warrant its own chapter, this time around. Sorry if you guys wanted more out of this chapter, but I don't wanna squeeze TOO much into a single chapter, and the positive emotion in this chapter is gonna crash soon, so I wanted to let you guys enjoy it. Well, cheers! R&R, good people. Well, even if your a bad person, you're included too.


	6. A Storm be Brewin'

A/N: Back again with another chapter of PJO goodness... well, at least I'd say so. Thanks for the support on the more recent chapters, you wonderful people. It makes me wanna see this story to the end. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea how it's going to end, so I guess we all just have to wait and see. To be honest, and I'm not sure if I've said this before, this story just... happens when I sit down and feel like typing. We'll see where my mind goes when I get to the end. Oh, and I read ALL the reviews I get, so if I don't PM with an answer, it's probably going to be answered soon, or I don't wanna spoil it.

Also, to PixelUp, and anyone else who got the Mianite series reference in the last chapter title, you rock! Although, sadly, season two came to an end. Regardless, Team Ianite ftw.

One more thing. This chapter is short because it's more of a set up for something decently big next chapter. Unfortunately, this makes it the second shortest chapter I've ever written. I mean, it doesn't even break 5,000 words, like my chapters normally do(Seriously, it's 4,953). Oh well, I feel like this chapter will be enjoyable none the less.

* * *

 _ **Last time on Drago- er, Neutrality-**_

She growled and began to send a barrage of fists at every vulnerable spot on his body. Every shot she took at his face was either dodged, deflected, or blocked. Every shot to his chest was blocked. Every swing at his abdomen was either blocked or outright taken, every time he hardened his muscles for the strike making her wince.

Eventually, she began to throw kicks into the mix, aiming to send him to the ground. Thankfully for Percy, he was able to block those as well, though he tried to dodge those more often.

After a few minutes of this, Percy caught one of her hands. She growled and tried to kick him in the side, though her leg was also caught. Before she could continue, her remaining leg was swept out from under her, sending her to the ground, though, in her surprise, she brought him down too.

Percy, going with the flow, stopped himself from falling on top of her by placing one hand next to her head, steadying himself. To end it, he placed a fist above her neck, showing that it was the end. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that she lost and pouted.

He grinned down at her. "Checkmate, Arty." She sighed, disappointed in herself as he got off her, making her blush lightly in recognition of their previous position. "Well, what was that about beating my face in earlier?"

She just stared at him for a bit, forgetting any previous embarrassment, before giving him a quick shot to the face, hitting him squarely on the nose. She smiled to herself as he held his nose, muttering curses at her.

It was then that she noticed many demigods had stopped their own spars and were staring at the two of them in awe, a few of them with phones out. "Uh, Percy?"

Annoyed, he rubbed his nose as he replied. "Yes?"

She flicked him on the forehead to get his full attention, which worked but annoyed him further, before gesturing around them lightly. "I think your fan-base just grew."

 _ **And now...**_

Percy just glanced around, noticing that the looks of hero worship he'd once gotten had returned, much to his displeasure. He could only sigh, unhappy with the development... well, redevelopment. _'They don't even know me, just a bit of my skill...'_ He could only shake his head at how easily he attracted their attention.

Holding his hands out to his swords, he called them back to him with a thought, something Artemis emulated a moment later, though she chose to sheathe them on her person instead of dispelling them as Percy had done with his swords.

The demigods hadn't stopped watching them, so Percy decided to give them a pretty big hint that they were done. Bowing in an exaggerated manner, he looked up at them. "I'm glad you enjoyed our spar, but, regrettably, I must inform you that the show is over. Please refer to Artemis' mood for the next available viewing." He straightened himself and walked away, leaving a somewhat amused group of demigods and a slightly annoyed Artemis, who walked after him a moment later.

After she caught up to him, they walked in silence for a bit, just aimlessly going around the camp, trying to pass the time until Zeus gave the announcements. They only had an hour or so left to wait, but that was an hour they had nothing to pass the time with.

Artemis looked at him, still having to look up slightly despite her older form, and began to question him. "So... what instruments DO you play? You mentioned playing five, so what are the other four?"

He smiled lightly thinking about it. "Well, I took up drums about halfway through my stay, and I'D say I'm pretty good." She rolled her eyes at his confidence but didn't interrupt, letting him continue. "There's also the cello, 'cause I love how it sounds. From there, I got into bass instruments. They're the heart beat of a band, and I love that.

"I started specializing in bass guitar, but I'm gonna count that in guitar, then I took up the trombone, specifically with jazz. In the last fifty years, though, I wanted a bit of a change, so I took up the flute, and started focusing more on the acoustic guitar." He gazed off into empty space, not noticing the look of disbelief Artemis was giving him.

She just shook her head. _'Only Percy would be so casual about being so skilled.'_ Looking around, she noticed that they were walking enough to reach the lake. Percy noticed nothing and kept walking, accidentally walking into the lake.

Well, he would've if Artemis hadn't yanked him back by the shoulder. He snapped back to reality, looking around far faster than a normal human could, taking in his surroundings. Looking directly in front of him, he chuckled sheepishly. "Hehehe, thanks."

She just shook her head at him. _'Never mind the skilled part.'_ She looked at him once he was done being dumb and said, "I'm going to go check on the hunters before Zeus decides to begin." She turned around, walking in the direction she felt them, as the collective hunt was under her dominion, lightly gesturing for Percy to follow.

He apparently didn't catch the gesture, as he nodded before answering. "Later then. I'm taking a dip in the lake." As Percy turned around and prepared to dive, he found his shoulder in an iron grip.

Turning around, he found Artemis giving him a look that said "You too" for her. He just sighed and nodded, glancing back regretfully at the lake that seemed to sparkle in amusement.

As they made their way back to the hunters, they saw most of them in the archery range, with the exception of Thalia, who was currently sparring with Nico, and Zoe, who was overlooking the match, as it was outside of the sparring area. Percy glanced over the group before looking back to Artemis. "You brought me all the way here to watch your hunters train?"

She shook her head. "I brought you here," she explained, "To do your job." He blinked with a blank face, prompting her to continue. "You were hired to guard them, so do so. I'M going to go to the ocean and practice my water powers." She turned around and started walking away from him, hiding a triumphant smirk. "Have fun, Percy."

Percy growled at her in mild annoyance, but waited until she was a good distance away to do anything but stare in her direction. Once she got a few yards away, he smirked and made a decently sized pond's worth of water appear above her, dropping it on her and shocking her out of her smugness.

Percy's head whipped around and he quickly hid his smirk under a mask of annoyance as he stared out over the hunters, ignoring Artemis as she approached once more. He turned around when he felt a slightly damp finger tap his shoulder, only to have to duck under the swing she took at his face.

His facade crumbled as he began to chuckle, Artemis, for the second time that day, trying, and failing, to beat his face in. "C'mon, Arty. Think of it as training. If you can push the water out of your clothes, that means your control has progressed pretty well. If not, then you need to train harder." Jumping back from a knee that was aimed at his groin, his smirk grew.

Dodging more and more of her strikes, he looked at her beginning to slow down, choosing then as the time to rile her up again. "Speaking of training harder," he began to tease, "I think you need to step your training up a bit, Arty. I'm just a demigod, but I'm dancing circles around you, and you're the fastest Olympian. C'mon, you can do better than that, right?"

He began to regret his words when her speed more than doubled, making her lands some hits in quick succession before he adjusted. "Better," he began, still dancing around her with the agility of a cat, "but you have to go faster than that." Fortunately for him, she was angry, so it made her moves sloppy and predictable, despite their increased speed.

Now, Thalia and Nico had noticed them when they walked into the area, so they decided to finish up. As they had walked over to them, Artemis told Percy something and began to walk away, only to come back, soaking wet a moment later and take a swing at Percy. Now, they were blurs as Artemis tried to hit him.

They looked at each other as the two fought. Well, as Artemis raged and Percy played. Nico looked back at the duo before coming back to Thalia and opening his mouth before closing it again. Eventually, he got something out. "So, uh, do we stop them?"

Thalia shook her head vehemently. "Do YOU wanna get involved in that?"

Nico didn't even take a moment to think. "Point taken."

Back with Percy and Artemis, Percy was chuckling by this point, only making Artemis all the more angry. "You know, I can't guard them while dodging your fists."

"Shut up!" she hissed at him, drawing the attention of the rest o the hunters with her loud remark.

Percy was a bit taken aback by the response. "Wow, and here I thought that water cooled people down. Want another bath?"

She seethed. "Oh, so you can do THAT and watch them!?"

He just nodded. "Why yes," he responded ducking under another fist, "yes I can. I can also just pull all the moisture right back out of your clothes, if I need to." Abruptly, she just stopped, making Percy freeze in response. "What, did you not realize I could undo it?"

The golden blush that covered her face at the remark gave her away the instant she responded. "Of course I knew that!" He just laughed as he pulled most of the moisture out, making sure to leave a little on her, just to annoy her.

She glared at him, feeling slightly damp. "I thought you said you could remove it!?"

He nodded. "And I can," he began, "but what would you learn if I just undid it all. At the very least, you can TRY to push the moisture out on your own." At Nico's cough, Percy noticed him. "Oh, hey Nico. 'Sup Thals... glancing around, he rolled his eyes. "Greetings to ALL of you. Now, you can get back to what you were doing. The guardian is back guarding... though from what, I haven't the slightest clue."

Artemis gave him one last glare before sighing and letting the anger that had no real reason to be there drop; she lost to him again, and that was a fact. _'I WILL beat you one day, Percy.'_ She didn't even notice that, even in her thoughts, she just called him Percy now, and thankfully for her, no one could read minds... unless Percy could, which wouldn't surprise anyone at this point.

* * *

The demigods, gods, dryads, naiads, and satyrs were all gathered in the amphitheater, having eaten early to make sure they had time to hear the gods announcement just in case another incident sapped them of time.

They arranged themselves in front of the gods, who were on a platform in front of the entirety of the assembly. Percy, who was standing on the platform with the light bent around him so he wouldn't be visible, was waiting for the gods to start, not really caring much for what they had to say.

Eventually, they began, Zeus, being the ever dramatic one, shooting a bolt of lightning that exploded in the sky dramatically to quiet their audience. Once the Olympians finished the customary eye-rolling or clapping respectively, they began.

Zeus began to speak on matters concerning the Romans, which Percy was mildly interested in. It seemed like Jason had become a resident god and overseer to the goings on of the place, and Reyna either retired or went with her sister to the Amazons by this point, as she was no longer a Praetor. _'Well, I hope she found her own happiness. Mine sure as hell didn't wor out, even after I turned her down...'_ He began to ponder on the what-ifs as Zeus continued, allowing his mind to wonder, constructing their own situations and circumstances if his life had taken such a path.

Eventually, the gods got to the last topic on their list: another possible war. Zeus began to falter in his speaking. "I-I... I believe Perseus should take over from here. He is... more informed and better acquainted with this possible threat than we are." Most of the Olympians, sans Artemis, Dionysus, Hestia, and Hades, looked around trying to find him.

Artemis, as opposed to the other three who didn't begin searching, just sighed before calling him. "Percy...us!" she called, adding the last part after a split second pause, deciding to be formal. It was barely noticeable, but it was there.

Percy sighed audibly, right next to her seat in an instant before revealing himself. "Been here the whole time. And why, pray tell, must I explain this?" The Olympians just looked at him, making him concede that he was the most knowledgeable on the subject at that moment.

Looking out over the assembly, he was stuck between pity, guilt, anger, and, oddly, indifference. _'These... these children may be entering another war, barely more than 50 years after one of such magnitude as before finished. I don't wish for anyone to go through the hell that is war... but, then they will understand a bit of why I don't wish to help them. If they just see the horrors of their friends dying in front of them, feeling the despair... They'll forge the bonds with one another like I did. They'll trust those around them to have more than just their backs. Having such a bond broken with such ease... I fee like they may come yo know a bit about the world._

 _'But, then again, why must I even bother to involve myself in this? Their predecessors managed to show me the fragility of those bonds, but... if theirs last, if they don't, it matters not to me. I am not one of them, and they know it. Even if they recognize me as a demigod, I will always be set apart. Zeus will wish to have my power, but recognizing it will only alienate me further. Then again, that would be the case if I'd agreed to work under Kronos... fuck this. If they want me, they can buy me. Nothing more, nothing less. They haven't proven they are worth even a modicum of my trust, but they do not bear the sins of those who came before them.'_

Finally speaking, Percy's voice came out cold and uncaring, making everyone look at him in surprise. "You know who I am already," he began smoothly, "but I shall remind you. I am Perseus Jackson, and I am currently charged with protecting a recovering hunt. While performing my duties, I sensed that the hunt was surrounded. I gathered the hunters in one area and addressed the assailants, who were monsters in this case. They revealed to me, in a bid for me to abandon the hunters, that they were operating under the will of a new master.

"I have partial divine authority over monsters due to the circumstances around my abilities. It's second to only two others, Tartarus, the embodiment of the very pit monsters return to and rise from... and Typhon, the storm giant and King of Monsters. The latter's authority is absolute for the most part; the only way for monsters to deny his power is to pool their determination, magnifying it beyond his ability to control, which is something I haven't even seen happen.

"I can confirm personally that Tartarus isn't behind this, and Typhon hasn't left Tartarus a single time, nor had anywhere near enough strength to pull something like this after our last encounter, so, most likely, someone has usurped his power in his time of weakness, claiming dominion over monsters... and possibly seeks to wage war on you." Percy paused for a moment, letting the Olympians register the new information he gave them, even if it was only bits and pieces.

He decided it was time to resume. "I am unable to confirm war bound intentions, but I do know something; you should all prepare yourselves. If war is coming, then it is imminent, as many monsters have already rallied. They only wait for their heavy hitters, and possibly any immortals they can get or have managed to convert. It matters little; I am regrettably here to tell you that the time for such lax behavior is at an end. Your freedom from the iron grip of war is at an end, and once more, you, as demigods, must fight to protect what you value, even if that is just your own life. Good luck, and train hard...

"... Because, one way or another, I see this being over within a year. Good bye to those of you who may perish before I am able to speak to you again." He stopped, letting his words settle in for those who were still trying to process what they were hearing at fit it into their view of reality.

As he gave them time, Percy couldn't help but smile bitterly, thinking of Silena and Beckendorf. "But who knows, maybe you'll win with no casualties... you certainly have the numbers to give proper coverage to all areas, this time around. Train hard, and maybe, just maybe, you won't have to experience some of the pain war brings. Good luck with that" With that, he stepped back next to Artemis, the light slowly bending around him until he was invisible once more.

His words made the demigods think he didn't intend to help them, something that was heatedly debated in whispers, even bringing Percy's friends into the matter, questioning whether they would do the same, whether they FELT the same.

Zeus let the message sink in for everyone before speaking; he too learned some troubling things. "W-well, it is unfortunate that we cannot rely on Perseus for this war, as he is some what bitter about us choosing to bani-"

He was quickly cut off by a cold laugh from the demigod that reappeared in front of him. "You think I'm bitter because of THAT! Tartarus no! I'm "bitter", as you'd say, because those that I'd fought with, bled with, suffered with... no, suffered FOR managed to abandon me because you decided to follow the rules for once! They managed to forget everything I've done for them, believing your lies just because you said them!" Percy just growled at him. "Great timing for the "king" to become as law abiding as the rest of us."

Zeus got rather fed up with Percy at the point. Getting in his face, he poked Percy in his bare chest, lightning unknowingly giving him a light shock, though Percy's body gave no reaction, being perfectly controlled. "I did what I did," Zeus began, his voice thundering like the storm that was brewing overhead from BOTH their emotions spiking, "to preserve the balance!"

Percy batted the finger away, scoffing. "Balance? You think you know BALANCE!?" Percy was almost seeing red, a red glow surrounding him in contention to the myriad of sparks flying off Zeus now. "ALL YOU KNOW OF IS A PAIN-FILLED CYCLE THAT JUST SO HAPPENS TO END WITH YOU STILL IN COMMAND!"

He took a few calming breaths, fixing his eerie gaze upon the Ruler of Olympus. "You are stuck in this cycle willingly because, within it, you retain the right to rule. You break the cycle, and for all you know, something completely new COULD overtake you. But, Zeus, THAT would be balance. To remove the right of ruling from the authority which has propagated a system that causing both pain and its own problems, all because they are fearful of what could happen otherwise.

"Giving a chance to something new would be balanced, but I don't get to make that choice, nor will I interfere in how it's decided. After all, if you truly deserve it, you'll be able to defend it yourself. Oh wait..." Percy just let it hang in the air, getting his point across with ease.

Zeus snapped at that. "YOU INSOLENT DEMIGOD!" he roared in outrage as lightning struck where they both stood, making everyone shield their eyes momentarily. When they thought it wise to look again, they saw BOTH Zeus and Percy standing there, their bodies pretty much generating enough electricity to power Manhattan for a few hours in the span of a few seconds.

Their gazes were locked for what felt like an eternity to them, though it was only half a minute. Percy turned around and began to walk away, not wishing to show the god the error of his ways but wanting the prideful man to understand what was wrong and admit it to himself.

Zeus wasn't going to just let him go, though. Bringing out his master bolt, he aimed it at Percy's back in an instant, releasing what one could describe as a condensed nuke on him. The moment it connected, there was a boom and a large pillar of crackling, yellowish-white electricity appeared.

Everyone watched with apprehension, except Zoe, who was the closest there to knowing how powerful Percy was. When the smoke cleared, everyone was shocked at what they saw. There was a burn on Percy's lower back in the exact same spot he'd gotten one before, by the hands of the same person, no less, but, almost symbolically, it healed before their eyes, leaving not a trace of damage.

Percy turned to Zeus again, this time his eyes were ice cold, going back to sea green but looking far more intimidating than the disconcerting rainbow that they were moments before. No, sea green didn't describe his eyes at that moment. The best way to describe it would be poisonous. An acidic green that burned your soul as you gazed into them, seeking to kill you from the inside with a power you had no counter for, a poison with no known cure.

Slowly, Percy began to laugh, though none of it reached his eyes; if anything, they only got sharper, more deadly. More ready to kill. "Well, it looks like I can add the sky and lightning to my official set of domains when I'm done here."

With that, Percy extended his right arm in front of him, his eyes turning a harsh gold instead of the poisonous green it was just now. His chain tattoo glowed for a moment, the skull on the chain necklace said tattoos connected to make seemed to grin as its eyes darkened further, becoming a far darker shade of anything that should exist. Its mouth opened and, despite being tattooed onto his body, out came a grey mist with streaks of gold and green in it, though it was all a rather light shade

The mist swirled around Percy before concentrating under his hand, raising up vertically to meet his open hand, moving with a purpose, as though it belonged there and was just trying to regain its proper place in the world. A midnight black staff made of what seemed to be Stygian iron appeared in his hand as the mist solidified, though it looked like a cross with the horizontal bar higher up and shorter than normal.

Then, with no warning, a pure black blade appeared on one of its horizontal bars' ends, curving dangerously towards the ground, while the other got a blade of the same shade that curved toward the sky. Slowly, they seemed to sink in on the ends of the horizontal bars, appearing to consume them. It took all of HADES might not to shiver at the feeling of dread that overcame him when the blades touched the shaft of the now apparent scythe.

Without warning, the blade that curved towards the sky shot down the blade, reaching its other end and becoming a reflection of the other side. The moment it reached its target, a shower of black flakes came from the blades, revealing shining blades that had sea green engravings on them, seemingly resembling a river or some other flowing substance, though whatever was depicted was drying up, losing substance and intensity as it reached the tip of the blade. The shaft then glowed, similar gold engraving slowly coming to life on it, though it stayed strong as it ran along the shaft.

As he watched Zeus shiver for a moment, Percy's smile lost some of its cold qualities but gained a bloodthirsty edge to it, as did his voice. As he grabbed the shaft(A/N: And NOW it feels dirty), his voice rang out in the quietly observing assembly. "How about we kill some time, Exantló?" The blade began to hum in agreement, the blades seemingly becoming sharper with each passing second.

Zeus could only watch on in fear, though this fear he was feeling wasn't solely for the demigod in front of him. It was for what he feared he might be. "F-father?" he asked with trepidation that spread to each and every person who understood the implications and knew the comparison. He had the cold, golden eyes, a scythe, and his very presence gave off power at that moment.

Percy smiled at him before freezing time temporarily, and ability that drained him somewhat easily, though not as much as light-speed. Calmly walking behind Zeus, he unfroze time, leaving Zeus to wonder at his disappearance before he tapped him on the shoulder, making him whirl around to meet him, terrified. It only made his smile widen. "Zeus, I am... not your father. I'll take a message, though."

* * *

A/N: And that's a wrap! I was thinking of continuing this chapter, but I decided to leave what comes next for its own separate thing. It just feels good to end it there; it really does. Thankfully, since I wrote part of it already, I'll probably be able to update again faster, maybe even tomorrow. Now, for a bit of an explanation. I won't say the exact goings on of the Olympian's private meeting with Perseus before he was banished, as it is actually a rather large plot point and it will be revealed very soon.

Also, the scythe's name means to drain, empty, or exhaust. You'll be seeing more abilities soon, as things are about to change. Majorly. Now, for any who wonder how demigods could use cellphones, let's just say Hephaestus found a way around it for now and leave it at that. I have a possible plan for this in which it becomes important, so I don't wanna reveal too much too soon. I got a review about it, so I'm just addressing it now before I get anymore.

Also, back to the Purge/Purgatory thing. I didn't name him that for nothing. You will eventually see why, at the very least, I call him Purge. Oh, that's gonna be good. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. By my estimation, that's at least 10 chapters away, likely more as I'll probably remember things I need to add for character development and such, making me fill up a chapter before I get where I wanna be. Then again, I could just make a long chapter. Oh, so many options, only one chance per chapter.


	7. Now, Don't Panic, But You're Screwed

A/N: Oh, just THINKING about the ways Percy could kick the shit out of Zeus is exciting, but I had to settle on one for this chapter. Oh well, I'll get to showcase other abilities eventually. Keeping this one short, though, as it wouldn't really fit with another chapter. Well, enjoy the beat down. The reaction to the time powers will come later.

* * *

Zeus stumbled backwards, fear evident in his eyes before his pride reasserted its dominance. "You do not scare me, child! I am-"

Percy cut him off by kicking him in the chest faster than most any could register, sending him flying off the small stage they'd been on. "You are a fucking dumb ass. THAT'S what you are." He proceeded to walk to the edge of the stage and look down at Zeus, who was on his hands and knees, struggling to breathe again.

Just as Percy was about to continue, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Who the fuck-?" He stopped in his tracks when he noticed it was Artemis, staring at him pleadingly.

There was a tense, 30 second silence as they stared at each other, her silver eyes locked with his currently gold ones. Well, it was silent for everyone who was watching, because the moment he turned to face her, Artemis had engaged in a mental conversation with him. _'Percy, don't kill him. Please.'_

 _'And why,'_ he asked, truly curious despite his current state, _'shouldn't I?'_

Her eyes flicked to her father, becoming slightly conflicted for a moment. _'I know he deserves it, both from his actions against you before and his actions now,'_ she admitted without a bit of reluctance, _'BUT, despite all that, he is one of the main reasons why I don't have half of the male gods breathing down my neck, looking for an opportunity to get in my pants. For the moment, he's needed.'_

Percy disagreed with that, which he made clear. _'No, I feel like the main reason is because they are afraid of what will happen to the parts that make them male if they try. Besides, IF you actually do need someone to scare off possible suitors, you know where to find me.'_

Her lips pressed into a thin line, not liking the way the conversation was going. _'No, he would've married me off to one of them already if he didn't want it to be one of his children. I rejected them all, so, for the time being, he's allowing me to remain a virgin goddess. If not for him allowing this, I WOULD have to deal with them, because they all think with their lower head. Eventually, one would manage SOMETHING.'_

Percy thought for a moment, reviewing her point. Sighing, he relented, realizing she would keep arguing even if he had an answer to all her points. "Okay, fine. I won't kill him." She let go of his shoulder, giving a sigh of relief.

Said sigh turned into a gasp when Percy proceeded to jump down in front of the recovered Zeus and stab him through the chest before brutally ripping the curved blade back out, spraying the ground with his golden blood. "PERCY!" He ignored her as Zeus fell to the ground.

Dropping to a knee and placing a hand on the god, he focused on his domain of mortality. As the wound began to close up, Percy addressed Artemis. "From Iapetus, I gained the domain of mortality. Mortality isn't something limited to those who don't live forever. Physical bodies can perish, which places them firmly within my power to restore." He felt Artemis relax, knowing Zeus would probably be fine, and still gain a lesson in humility. Percy wasn't finished yet, though. "Now, get the fuck up, Zeus; I'm not done with you."

Zeus, who's eyes were rapidly dimming as his consciousness faded, was suddenly snapped back. Percy had pulled back a little while ago, so he wasn't in the way when Zeus sprung to his feet, feeling his chest and only finding the golden blood that sprayed from his wound. He was unaware of what had just transpired, as it was over before he could even register it, so he just laughed, thinking Percy was unable to kill him.

Percy rolled his eyes raising his blade, showing the the blood in the blade that pierced his body. Not a bit of it had dripped, all of it sticking to the blade as if there was some sort of force keeping them there. "Don't you feel it, Zeus?" Percy disappeared, appearing behind Zeus at the same moment a deep gash covered the god's chest. "Your strength ebbing with each drop of blood?"

He didn't give Zeus a chance to answer as he quickly swept him off his feet using the shaft of his scythe before slowing down time and positioning his scythe blade directly under him. Once he was correctly positioned, he resumed the normal flow of time, letting Zeus fall on the blade, coughing up golden blood. He saw some of the demigods move to help their king, but a single look made them freeze up once more.

It wasn't just the fear from the look in his eyes, though, that stopped them. He stopped time for the signals their brains sent to their muscles to tell them to move, paralyzing them.

Turning his attention back to Zeus, Percy just began to focus his healing power on Zeus, making sure the god stayed alive as he lowered his grip on his weapon before flinging Zeus sky high, tearing the blade out of him.

Now both blades of his scythe were wet with the Olympian's blood. The blood itself traveled up the blades, settle into the grooves of the shaft and blending in with the already gold engravings. Percy's smile returned with a vengeance, almost splitting his face as he felt a surge of power.

Zeus had healed by this point, and the force of gravity had begun dragging him back to earth. Being "lord" of the sky, he stopped himself midair, staring down at Percy with rage in his eyes. All rational thought was gone from him now. _'This DEMIGOD has humiliated me in front of my subjects, and I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT!'_ The storm that had been brewing from the time they were shouting seemed about ready to burst, so he let it do exactly that.

Using his power over lightning, he called down as much of it as possible, raining it down on Percy without a thought for the safety of everyone else. Percy, who'd taken to the air and was slowly approaching, had a moment of disgust at the complete disregard of the safety of those watching. He couldn't help but mutter, "Great fucking ruler you are."

Percy, after slowing down time to a crawl, flew up and outright CAUGHT the bolts, one after another, with one hand, shattering them as they reached him. After the first few, Zeus stopped, staring in shock before his fury was reignited. Percy resumed the normal flow of time, allowing his voice to sound normal. "HOW DARE YOU ENCROACH UPON MY DOMAIN? FIRST, YOU FLY, THEN YOU STOP MY LIGHTNING! I REFUSE TO TOLERATE THIS!" Even as high up as they were at this point, the assembled gods, demigods, etc. could easily hear the furious god.

Percy rolled his eyes, his anger still burning brightly behind his relaxed yet slightly annoyed facade. "Oh shut it, Zeusy. What you will and won't tolerate is hardly any of my concern... but, since you're being so bitchy, I'll explain. For every drop of blood you spill onto Exantlo, I gain some power from you. I shoved my partner here into your heart already, then cut you further, so you can imagine how much power from you I've taken. This is your own power being used against you."

"Don't get the wrong idea, though," he began to clarify, as Zeus got a slightly prideful look. "This is only bolstering my powers to a level FAR beyond yours. I was given the same abilities, and them some, by Ouranos himself, and even in the watered down form I received them in, they outclassed yours. Now, I'm approaching his level." Zeus' face paled as he realized just how outclassed he was.

Percy didn't give him a chance to beg for mercy. Bolts of lightning, which had been arcing between the clouds around them for a while, shot out at Zeus, frying him to a crisp(A/N: The average bolt of lightning is around 54000 degrees Fahrenheit, or 30000 degrees Celsius.). When they ended, which was an admittedly short time later, Zeus had burns all over him, parts of his skin so badly burnt that they were charred(aka third degree burns).

Catching his body as he began to fall back to earth, purposefully grabbing him by the neck, which had second degree burns, as he didn't know if the third degree ones damaged nerve endings, he squeezed as he began healing the god of his injuries.

After a minute, Percy was holding a completely healthy Zeus, though the feeling of pain was strong enough to linger despite the lacking injuries, incapacitating him through the intensity of the feeling. Seeing the "lord of the sky"'s face remain contorted in pain, Percy closed his eyes as he smiled serenely, which looked rather out of place as he sat in a storm cloud, a man going through agonizing pain held within his grasp.

Percy opened his eyes suddenly. _'I should probably end this.'_ Calling lightning towards him, he took a sense of satisfaction that he'd confirmed something in the previous onslaught: Zeus wasn't immune to lightning. He could summon it, he could control it, but he was also susceptible.

Thankfully, Percy's shadow clothes could absorb lightning and redirect it, negating the damage to him and increasing what was dealt to Zeus. He dialed back the heat to a level he could withstand due to his nature (around 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 1200 Celsius) and allowed the bolts to do their thing.

Zeus, who was being continually healed, screamed in agony, Percy's intervention preventing him from falling unconscious. All the burns, despite the reduced heat, were still severe, searing his skin and leaving blisters and charred areas which were being continually healed, leaving a place for another to form.

When Percy felt he'd had enough, he gripped the mans throat tighter before rocketing back down, landing away from the crowd as their return created a crater. Zeus had been slammed into the ground on impact, leaving him in the ground, unable to move due to the pain he was still feeling and the electricity running through his body, messing with his nervous system. The pain, still as strong as if he was still being shocked, prevented him of thinking of anything beyond _'MAKE IT STOP!'_

Percy, using hos control over the earth, just reformed the earth, removing the crater with a thought and popping Zeus out of the ground. He had the pain going on a time loop for Zeus, keeping it at the same level as when they were airborne. He grabbed Zeus by the hair and dragged him back to the assembly, every member of which was staring in their direction.

Percy pulled all the electricity out of his system, directing it to ground, and threw him back into his seat almost casually. As the anguished Zeus screamed, Percy decided to end the loop, allowing the signals his brain was getting to come to an end, bringing the pitiful wails of the "king" to an end with them.

Looking out to the crowd, he smirked at the fearful look he got. "I think he's calmed down." Turning to Zeus, he continued. "Now, weren't you addressing these people?" Zeus, who was still writhing in agony, barely heard him. Percy slammed the pommel of his scythe into his foot, breaking a few bones, though he healed them easily, as he had contact. "Weren't you?" he hissed out, making his message clear.

Zeus, broken out of the fading pain induced trance by the new but short-lived pain, nodded vigorously. Percy nodded back, a smile on his face that shouldn't have been there, holding a weapon that gave off such... willingness to kill.

After a moment, Percy went back to his position next to Artemis. He rubbed Exantlo's blade lovingly before sending it back, the blade humming in what could only be described as disappointment for the lack of enemies. After it was gone, he promptly followed suit, disappearing from view. They all knew he was still around, though, and that alone was enough to put him on edge.

Zeus cleared his throat, regaining everyone's attention. When he spoke, his voice had lost all of its bravado, all of its power. "A-as I was saying," he began weakly, "Perseus has denied his help to the upcoming threat, as he..." Zeus felt a cold presence SOMEWHERE around him, letting him know that his words had power. The power to decide his own fate. His throat suddenly felt very dry. "H-he... doesn't feel obligated to help us." The crowd went into an uproar, especially after seeing him decimate the kind of the gods so easily. How could someone so powerful NOT help them?

Clearing his throat, Zeus continued, having regained some of his normal behavior, despite his damaged pride. "However, he is not opposed to helping us, under certain conditions." The crowd listened intently, wanting to know what they had to do to gain such help. "He... he's a-"

Percy cut him off, his voice audible before he was visible. "I'm a mercenary, as I believe I've said before. Even if I'm not really too eager to lend my services, I'm willing to, as I don't hold the broken bonds between me and a previous generation as your wrongdoing. That, and I do still have friends here. As such, I can be bought." He paused a moment to think. "Actually, you guys are rather lucky. I'm already bound to the hunters, for the time being, so your enemies can't buy me, at the moment."

As he saw hope blossom in their eyes, he sought to crush it. "Sadly," he began, "I'm only obligated to defend the hunters in their weakened state until either their skill or numbers have reached a satisfactory degree, preferably both. And, as they aren't strong enough at the moment, the hunters will likely be staying back in this war, for the most part. You want my services, hope to Khaos that Zeusy here strikes a deal with yours truly."

Percy stopped for a moment to think. "Actually, the more I think about it, I'm not sure if I'd participate in this war even if you DID pay me. You demigods have gone soft in times of peace, complacent in your increased numbers. Then, there's the hunters, who've been weakened immensely. And those are just the internal problems you guys face.

"When this does get started, and I'd say that's whenever Typhon heals, you'll have to face Typhon, who ever stole his position, a monster army that's been preparing for a little while now, and whatever others they have on their side.

"Typhon alone was a match for the Olympians at their peak. Maybe they could take him now, with their increased numbers, but whoever took his power will also be a problem, and any other immortals they convince, be they gods, titans, or protogenoi, will just worsen the problem. For all we know, they might've found a way to hasten the Giants' revival, and they DEFINITELY want to overthrow the gods. For all my strength, I can only help so much."

He watched with amusement as the demigods began to panic before stopping them. "OI!" They quieted down. "Now, I didn't say this for you to panic... but you may be fucked." The mass panic intensified as Artemis shot him a scathing look. Catching it, he shrugged. "What? You heard what they're going up against." The look intensified.

* * *

A/N: And, that's a wrap! I'm keeping it short so I can work on my other stories. I've been trying to iron out just what information Percy has available to share with them, just so I can stay consistent. It's rather difficult, as I'm planning a serious WTF plot twist, which will either being amusing or annoying. Seriously, it'll be one or the other. Don't wanna give too much away, but know that it has to do with Percy and someone else who has been at least mentioned in the story. Let the fan theories commence.


	8. Grovelling Gods

A/N: Hey guys! Did you miss me? I hope you did. Because I'm BACK! With another chapter, if that's what you want. If not, well, here's a chapter anyway. Got two other stories I'm trying to figure out at the moment, so this may happen from time to time. Sorry. Anyway, on with the story!

* * *

As the demigod's continued to panic, ALL the god's turned their head to look at Percy scathingly. In the end, he couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, okay. I'll calm them down."

He looked out on the crowd with amused eyes. Shaking his head, he brought his hand up to his face. "Ahem." It was quite loud, but it was nothing compared to the crowd. "AHEM!" They continued to panic.

Taking a deep breath, he shouted, "SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTHS!" The entire crowd went silent. "Thank you. Now, if you would, Olympians." Percy gestured to the Olympians, making it clear he wasn't talking anymore.

The gods themselves were silent. What could they really say? Percy had laid out the cold hard facts of how screwed they were, and his help, as he said, could only help so much. Instead, they just sat there, thinking on their current situation, and they had no ideas on how to win.

Instead, Zeus got up and, in an act of humility that shocked every single person there, he got on his hands and knees. "Please, Perseus. Whatever you want, I don't care. Just lend us your strength one more time. I beg you." He was bowing so low that his forehead was touching the floor.

The silence that followed was completely saturated with the shock of literally everyone who saw it, the crowd, the other Olympians, the other present gods, even the spying Primordials. Percy himself was standing there, frozen.

It didn't stop there, though. Hades followed suit, dropping to one knee. "If you wish to see your mother or other friends on the event of their passing, it will be so. All the riches that reside beneath the earth can be yours. You wish for something within my power, and it shall be. So I beseech you, lend us your strength." The shock got stronger.

Poseidon was next in line. He dropped to his hands and knees as well, mirroring Zeus. "My son... no, I am not worthy to call you that. Perseus, I know we do not deserve anything from you after we voluntarily placed you within the mouth of Tartarus, but I do not beg for my own well being. Nor for that of the other gods, Olympian or no. I ask for your help for the future of these children. They do not deserve to see war. They have done nothing worth dying over. Even if you wish to kill us for our actions, or watch us burn, do not let them suffer."

The rest of the Olympian's followed suit, all except Artemis, Hestia, Aphrodite, Apollo, after he saw his sister wasn't doing it, and Ares. When Athena glanced at Ares pleadingly, he scoffed. "A single war potential won't necessarily allow us to survive. No plan survives contact, Athena." Regardless of his own beliefs, the glares of the other Olympians made him kneel reluctantly, though he said nothing. Before they could start on the others, the entire crowd kneeled.

Percy just stared in shock, though he was somewhat happy his friends didn't bother kneeling. They knew when he was set on something, changing his mind was nigh impossible. "Well..." he began, shock evident in his voice. "You guys are really..." There was mounting hope that was in the air, but his next words crushed it. "Fucking pathetic. I get you think you REALLY need my help, but shouldn't me saying no force you to become self-sufficient? Seriously, I'm trying to force you to become stronger, but nooooo. You need someone to do your fucking dirty work."

Taking a deep breath to remain calm, he continued. "I don't wanna be too much of an ass, though, so I'll throw you a bone. In three days, every single able bodied person who wishes to help needs to meet up here. I'll be gone until then, but if you really want my help, follow these orders.

"Oh, and get the hell up. I don't like it when people bow to me; there's no need to place yourself below me." When everyone got up, he continued. "Now, I don't like being mean, so, as I may have come off as an ass, I apologize. But have some fucking pride! Don't bow to anyone but those who have proven to be your superior. Not just in power but in character. For all you know, you're better people that I am. Placing yourself below me so easily... you may as well give up now if that's how you want to live." The entire crowd gaped at his attitude change, unsure of how to react to the person who annihilated their king telling them not to bow.

Percy ignored them, though, and turned directly to the gods. "Go prepare every able bodied person in Camp Jupiter, except those who wish to stay and defend. I'll be back in 3 days, as I said. If you want to win that badly, I know you'll listen." With that, Percy disappeared.

But he didn't leave. His presence was concealed to the point that no one there could sense him in any way, but he was still there. He sent a mental message to Artemis, making her almost jump. As it was, she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from crying out. _'Hey, Arty! Just thought I'd give you a little something to call me if you need me.'_ As he spoke... well, thought, a necklace formed around her neck. A locket, actually.

She didn't dare reach and open it, so as to not draw attention to it, but she was thankful none the less. _'Thanks, Percy.'_ She "heard" him muttering some unintelligible things, obviously not in English, but he was done not too long after.

He laughed. _'Don't worry about it. Just hold it and think about whatever you need to tell me. Later.'_

She had a question for him though. _'Wait! What are you going to do?'_

He rolled his eyes, though she couldn't see it. _'I guess I can tell you, Ms. Nosy. I'm calling in a few favors with some protogenoi, so the children that you gods use as an army will have a fighting chance.'_ Through her surprise, she didn't hear her brother calling her name, or notice the other gods dispersing.

A small smile came over her face. _'Thank you so much.'_

Percy scoffed, but to her, the voice sounded different. Doubled, even. _'You won't be saying thank you when you see how this goes.'_ Before she could ask, his presence was gone. Blinking, she came back to reality fast enough to catch an arrow Apollo had shot at her.

Growling as she snapped the godly arrow like a twig, she asked, "What, exactly, are you doing?"

He just held his hand up in surrender. "Sorry. You weren't paying attention, and we were done."

She blinked before getting up and walking towards her hunters, who were waiting for her orders. "My apologies, Apollo. I suggest a less... violent wake up call in the future." As she passed him, she placed the locket inside her clothes, letting it rest against her chest inside of her dress.

Those who noticed it didn't say a word at the moment, but Thalia made a note to ask her about that. "Okay hunters," she began, "you may train in any way you like for the next two days. I recommend you rest in the third. Things may get hectic when Perseus returns."

They all dispersed, going about doing things, but Thalia stayed behind. "Yes Thalia?"

Thalia looked at her mistress questioningly for a moment. "Uh, where did that locket come from, Lady Artemis?"

She pressed her lips into a thin line for a moment. "It... it was a gift."

It took a moment of silence for Thalia to realize that Artemis wasn't going to elaborate on her own. "If you don't mind me asking, who was it?"

Artemis looked at her dangerously, but apparently it wasn't very effective. "Fine. It was Percy." She saw Thalia's eyes widen before they returned to normal, a devilish grin on her face. Before Thalia even got the chance to start trying to tease her, she was steamrolled. "Don't even. It's a signal, in the event I don't know where he is and need his help. If something happens, I use it. That's all."

Aphrodite walked up to them, and began squealing, as she'd heard the whole thing. "Oh, that means he cares about you! Oh that's so cute!" Artemis growled. at her threateningly, but it was ignored completely. "Can I see it?"

Shaking her head, Artemis didn't bother to respond to the love goddess. "Oh, don't be like that, Arty."

"Don't call me that!" Artemis snapped, thoroughly annoyed now. "And, since you need to hear my voice to understand anything, I'll spell out my answer. N. O. No." Instead of angrily storming off like she normally would, she schooled her face into a mask of calm, not wanting to give Aphrodite any further satisfaction. Even if it did succeed in denying Aphrodite some satisfaction, it didn't stop her constant pestering. Thalia joined in as well, doubling the assault on her slowly crumbling patience.

"FINE!" she shouted after a solid half hour of trying to ignore them. "You can see it!" Pulling it out of her dress, it was presented to them.

Smiling in triumph, they both looked at the locket curiously. "Doesn't look like much to me," commented Aphrodite.

Thalia shrugged. "Percy never really went over the top with this stuff. It's beautiful, though." It was completely made of silver. The chain sparkled when the light hit it properly, as it was made of a multitude of small links. The locket itself was in the shape of a heart, with wings that formed the shape. You wouldn't even realize it was a heart if you just glanced at it, but the more they stared at it, the more prominent the details became. The occasional wing was black, making an interesting contrast with the rest of it. The wings at the bottom overlapped, interlocking to stay together.

It was interesting to look at, but Artemis put it away, making them groan. "Are you happy?"

Thalia nodded a bit reluctantly, but Aphrodite shook her head with a light laugh. "When it comes to you, I won't be happy until I find someone you can, no, DO love. This is the closest you've come EVER, so I'll be watching you. Tataa." She disappeared in a puff of pink smoke, making Thalia cough.

Artemis just sighed. "Well, I guess I'll have to deal with her until he leaves." Thalia nodded, rather annoyed by Aphrodite's words, as she wasn't the most fond of the love goddess either, though she didn't hate her by any stretch of the word.

Instead of dwelling on her, though, Thalia moved on. "So, what's inside?" The look she got from Artemis told her that she reeeally wasn't in the mood. "Sorry. I'll just go train now."

* * *

With Percy

* * *

Percy was taking the long route through Tartarus to get to Tartarus'/his palace. _'I really need to go to my own more often. It's just collecting dust... actually, the cleaning spell takes care of that.'_ Shaking his head, he wondered which of the primordials would be best to ask. "Okay, so Ouranos is a must, as Zeus is WAY too weak. Jason could beat him, unless he got lazy.

"Probably Pontus, but Thalassa doesn't like Poseidon too much." He shook his head. "Oceanus detests demigods, so I guess I'll take over there. Actually, I don't think any of the titans will help... shit." He sighed before continuing to talk to himself. "Erebus would be glad to scare the shit out of them to help. Well, at least that's the big three and their children covered. Eros is chill, so he would help out, though he might be problematic. Both him AND Aphrodite..."

He stopped in his tracks as a shiver went down his spine. "Ugh, I'm gonna regret it, but I'll do it." Sighing, he kept talking to himself. "Hemera would help, but I can take over if things get out of hand. Same for Nyx... doubt she'd even help, so I'll probably have to handle Arty and her hunters, too."

So it went as Percy went down a brimstone pathway, making his way down the path. Eventually, he made his way to the palace, but, oddly, found none of the others walking around, or doing anything, actually. "Strange..." he muttered to himself.

Shrugging, he followed the large concentration of divine energy to a room. Opening the door, he saw all of them... leaning against one another, crying their eyes out. Above the crying, he could hear some voices, familiar voices.

His eyes widened when he recognized them. Appearing in front of the void TV, no doubt made by the bawling Khaos, he stared at the TV in fear. "Oh fuck no..." On the screen was him having a heart to heart with Artemis.

His mind was going a thousand miles a minute, trying to figure out what he forgot. _'I got rid of EVERYTHING! The earth, the light, both in and out of our bodies, the fucking AIR! How the hell did they... oh. I forgot about the space between every single FUCKING THING I MADE!'_

He rounded on Khaos, staring her down with glowing eyes before he remembered that she could probably annihilate him with little more than a thought. In the back of his mind, a part of him said it "would be soooooo worth it" at that moment. Another part of his mind said he "was being ridiculous and it wasn't that big of a deal". The latter part was drowned out before being drowned.

He clenched his hands and took a few deep breathes. _'Count to ten, Perce,'_ Purge advised. _'Count veeery slowly.'_ He nodded and began counting in his head. He didn't even make it to 2.

* * *

Three Days Later

* * *

Percy appeared in the amphitheatre again, looking a bit different. His hair was natural again, showing all of the grey streaks in it, and it was longer. It grew in a fashion that he was able to turn the back into a pony tail, reaching the middle of his back. It was tied by a white band, so it was easy to tell what changed up there.

A change no one could see was the different tattoos on his palms. His left still had the anchor, but it was now connected to the chain that encircled his arm, though said chain shrunk drastically as it reached his palm. On his right palm, there was a circular dragon tattoo, rather simplistic but when spoken about, but the intricate designs of the tail coiling around the body and the wings, which were rather detailed, partially covering the body and the circle that surrounded it. The circle itself had two rings, seemingly arcane inscriptions between the two.

Regardless, he walked forwards, everyone around him noticing his arrival and backing away, some scared of him after he laid the smack down on their king and others more or less following the crowd. A few just moved out of his way due to respect, though. Shaking off the looks, he made his way to Zeus.

The god in question was currently in a game of pinochle with Dionysus, Chiron, and Athena in front of the big house. Percy blinked but shrugged, resolving to lean against the big house and watch, undetected by any of them. Unfortunately, word traveled fast about his return, so eventually, a demigod, seemingly one of Zeus' children, came up to said god and informed him of Percy's arrival.

Sighing, Percy appeared behind Zeus, lamenting the effort he was about to give on behalf of the gods. "Hello, Zeusy." Everyone there jumped at his voice. "You guys really should pay better attention to your surroundings. I've been here for a little while, you know."

After the gods got their hearts out of their throats and Chiron's tail stopped impersonating a propeller, he continued. "I hope you got the Romans together, because I'm not gonna be waiting for them." Zeus nodded submissively, something that made Percy raise a brow at, but he didn't comment. "Good. Now, gather everyone together in the amphitheatre. Everyone that's fighting is coming with us, and I'd imagine that's everyone here, yes? Even the children can be medics, if you're worried about that."

Nodding, they all got the hell out of there, rushing to follow orders. Except Chiron. He stayed and looked Percy in the eye for a long while. "Perseus..." He didn't know what else to say to his one time student.

Percy, on the other hand, understood. "Sorry, Chiron. I just..." Percy sighed for a moment. In that instant he looked tired. Far too tired for his youthful appearance. "You don't understand, Chiron. My time with Cronus... I've seen things, Chiron. You don't want to know. If I fight in another war, I'll be ending it within that day. Or die trying. The wars I went through with you are nothing compared to the ones I've experienced, the savagery of war that has been dulled with modern technology and reason. Fighting monsters in war, true war, isn't something I want to last. That's the only reason I'm helping at all. I just don't wish to enter."

Chiron stared at Percy in shock, truly seeing some of his own pain in the eyes of his student. Laying a hand on the demigod's shoulders, his face looking every bit his age, he spoke. "I understand Percy. More than you know." With that, he trotted off, seeking to gather those who the gods may miss.

An hour later, everyone was gathered in the amphitheater, hoisting packs and such. Percy floated in front of the group a good 10 feet off the ground. "Demigods, I will give you ten minutes to make sure you know what you are doing. This will not be a war like any class you've experienced before. Nor like any war you've previously heard of. This will be a war initiated by monsters, perpetuated by monsters, and they will come at you like monsters, as if you were also monsters. Any humanity or real honor that you may expect to see in battle has no guarantee of being there, or being used.

"Fighting dirty will be the norm, kill or be killed will be the rules. If you wish to back out, I do not blame any of you. To my knowledge, they only want the gods themselves, so do not feel as though you are fighting for your own survival. But the moment you are opposing beings such as Kampe or the Minotaur, it will be far to late to have regrets. Think long and hard on this, and make sure, if you want to fight, you do it for the right reasons."

Lowering down, he landed in front of Ares. "Come on, Ares, we gotta go deal with the Romans as well." The god of war nodded, stepping forward, his posture as straight as a soldier. They both disappeared in a flash of light, though Percy was literally light travelling while Ares was doing his whole godly teleportation thing.

* * *

Camp Jupiter

* * *

Appearing in the Caldecott tunnel in California, they proceeded to walk towards the entrance to the camp. Percy noticed that Ares biker clothing melted into golden armor with a purple cloak flowing behind him. His shades disappeared, replaced by a helmet that covered most of his face, leaving a Y shaped area in front. His eyes were visible, but glowed red with a controlled rage in the darkness of his helmet. Said helmet had a red plume on top of it, going from the front of the helmet to the back. The armor itself was molded in the shape of chiseled abdominal muscles that Percy had little doubt he actually possessed, at least in his current form.

Turning his attention to the guards of the entrance, he was pleasantly surprised to find Hazel and Frank guarding it. _'Well, ain't that nostalgic. Memories...'_

He was broken out of his train of thought by the voice of Frank. "Halt! Who goes there? Identify your- ow!"

Hazel had smacked him in the back of the head when she saw that it was Mars before bowing. "Forgive us, Lord Ar- Mars. We did not realized it was you." Frank's eyes widened comically before he bowed as well, apologizing.

Mars waved them off. "It's fine. You're my daughter-in-law and son; ain't gonna blast you. Why are you on guard duty, anyway?"

Percy interjected before they could answer. "C'mon, man," he started, making Hazel widen her eyes and Frank narrow his, both recognizing his voice. "Don't ask them that. I feel like it's obvious they wanted a bit of, ah, "alone time", if you know what I mean."

To Hazel and Frank's surprise, he laughed. "I see. Well, sorry to get between you two, but you'll be needed inside soon. You'll have all the "alone time" you want later." They were still in shock that Mars was laughing at them, but then their brains registered the meaning of the words spoken.

They turned into their own personal suns, their faces practically glowing a gold.(A/N: Forgot about the fact that gods have golden blood, to be honest. Their blush should be golden.) "Dad!" Frank cried, staring at him to avoid looking at Hazel.

Percy blinked in surprise. "I thought you two were married? I'd have thought you two would be beyond... Have you two not done it yet?" They stared at him, incredulous, but he just kept going. "Nah, it's been fifty years. You ARE still together, right?" They nodded dumbly. "Good, good. Now, come along. Only got another 8 minutes to get to the Praetors. Wonder who they are now?"

As he walked between the two of them, he stopped and turned around. "Oh, I'm back, by the way. Good to see you."

* * *

A/N: And that's a wrap. I wanna save the Camp Jupiter stuff for its own chapter, since Camp Half-blood has had so much of a spotlight on it. Also, remember that locket. It will become VERY important later on in the story. Like, really important. Won't tell you how, though. So, this chapter is short, but the wait won't be as long until the next one. Trade off.

So, let me do some explaining now. Percy REALLY doesn't wanna fight in any wars. In his training with Cronus, and I'm only saying this now because I'm not sure if I'll be saying this in the story, he was literally pulled into the flow of time, and left there to gain a true understanding of time. He can't go back in time very far, but he knows just about every major thing that happened in human history. He's seen the atrocities that people can commit up close and has used his power over emotion to understand the pain that it has caused. If it comes up, I'll do a flashback of this, but, for now, this is all you'll get. Not sure if it'll pop up or not.

Now, see if you can guess who the main villain is! We can turn this into a little game.


	9. Settin' Up Camp(Literally)

A/N: I LIIIIIIIIVE! Seriously though, I'm back! Sorry for the wait, but I was somewhat obsessing over some chapters for the other two stories I have going. Couldn't really write any other stories properly. Then school started being... school so... yeah. Again, sorry. I'll rant about it at the end. But, because of that stuff, I kinda struggled to keep the mood consistent. I wrote bits and pieces at different times, whenever I had the time, and energy, to do so. So MY mood changed a lot from part to part, meaning the story might be a bit... odd. I'll try to get a few chapters backed up so I can start a schedule of some sort. Thinking every week or so. We'll see.

* * *

Percy grinned at Frank and Hazel, who were trailing behind him and Mars, as they entered the place he hadn't seen in person for ages. Camp Jupiter. _'Oh, the nostalgia is gonna hit me HARD on this one.'_ He could FEEL the skepticism from Purge, and he handily ignored it.

Instead he just kept moving, trailing a step behind Mars as they made their way to the Tiber. By the time they made it to the actual river, most had probably been alerted to their presence, as there was already a large gathering on the other side.

Once they saw who was in the group, they ALL dropped to knee. Quickly. Percy couldn't help but snicker as he saw some of them fall over or fumble with their equipment from the rush. As they crossed the bridge, a bolt of lightning fell in front of them, which dispersed to show Jason, kneeling directly in front of Mars. Behind him were two Romans with purple cloaks on Pegasi, coming in for a landing. They too kneeled once they landed, taking up the position on either side of Jason.

It was a moment before anyone spoke. When the silence was broken, it was Jason that spoke. "Greetings, Lord Mars. Is it the time you prepared us for?" Mars nodded.

Standing up straight in front of the Olympian, Jason and the two praetors saluted Mars before turning to the rest of the legion. It was Mars who spoke, though, announcing his intentions to the entirety of the legion. "All applied legion members for project exodus will gather here in the next 5 minutes with all supplies and belongings they wish to take!" After showing their understanding, they dispersed, going to collect prepacked supplies and belongings.

Jason then turned to the group and went to address Mars. "Uh, I mean no disrespect, but what threat, exactly, are we going to combat?"

Percy looked at Mars incredulously. "YOU DIDN'T TELL THEM!?" To his further shock, Mars looked rather sheepish. His palm impacted with his face rather quickly after that revelation.

At that point, Jason focused on him, wondering who was talking to the main god of Rome so casually. Unable to discern his identity, he decided to ask. "And who may you be?"

Clutching his heart in mock pain, Percy stumbled forward. "Oh, you wound me so, Jason!" After chuckling at his own theatrics, he answered him by changing his eyes back to their original sea green and masking the grey streaks in his hair. "Recognize me now?" Jason stared at him, getting the familiar feeling from both his voice and his looks, but couldn't pin it down.

Sighing, Percy brought out both his new iterations of Riptide. "Now?"

Jason's widened eyes was all Percy needed to see that he did. "You!? How- but- when... what!? Aren't you supposed to be..."

Percy just laughed at him, but kept an eye on the now tensed god. "Yeah, yeah. I'll explain everything another time. Surprised you managed to believe I'd do that, by the way." Jason flinched from his words and looked away, feeling more than a little guilty.

Waving it off, Percy asked him something. "So, who were the two Praetors? Don't think I know 'em. And what happened to Reyna?"

Jason, thankful for the switch in topic, answered. "Well, the praetors are James Fetterman, legacy of Jupiter, and Marcelene Wright, daughter of Minerva." Percy raised a brow at the Minerva part, but then remembered that she lost her grudge against the Romans. "Reyna, well... she's working with her mother. She earned minor godhood a few decades back."

Percy nodded. "Fine, fine. Well, I have some things to set up. Once everyone returns, march them over to the Field of Mars. You'll find out what's happening by the end of the day." With that, Percy disappeared in a flash of light. Light travelling, as he called it.

* * *

Just outside of Lebanon, Kansas

* * *

Percy appeared in front of a farm house and two silos looking over a LARGE amount of land. "Ah, the perks of being a mercenary. You amass so much money that you can just do stuff like THIS." Purge agreed with him wholeheartedly.

Sighing, he got to work. Holding his hands out forward, he started chanting in an arcane manner. Barely visible, a small barrier appeared from the road FAR to his left, School Avenue, to the one to his right. Both the area of land in front of him and the area of land behind him was covered by it. "Okay, barrier set up. Now, where should they arrive..."

After making up his mind, he held out both hands above an area in front of the house he owned. A large glowing circle appeared on either side of him, which made him smile. "Good, I can still do it. Now, to head back to camp and set up one there... This'll be annoying." With that, he disappeared in another flash of light, rather glad that it was still daytime.

* * *

Camp Half-Blood

* * *

Appearing in front of the crowd again, Percy got their attention with a quick clearing of his throat. "Okay, so if you're still going, follow me." They had little choice but to follow him, so they did just that, following the super-powered demigod to the pine tree that maintained the magical border of the camp.

Pushing a hand out, Percy began to chant lowly. A circle appeared in front of him, a rather large one, in fact. Large enough to fit almost a fifth of the camp population at once. Even after it appeared, he kept chanting, now linking this one to the one he had in Kansas. By the time he was done, there was sweat visible on his forehead. _'I sooo have to practice that more often.'_

Shaking his head, he turned to the group. "Just go into the ominously glowing circle... I promise it won't bite." He added the last part when some of the people looked anxious. "Seriously, though. You should start now, because I'm leaving now and I don't wanna find you guys staring at the circle like it's the entrance to Tartarus. Get going." He disappeared just like that, after wiping his face, of course.

* * *

Field of Mars

* * *

Appearing in front of the OTHER group of partially divine and mythological beings, Percy began to wonder why he was bothering to go through all this trouble for them. Shaking his head, as he was already this far into the process, he just looked over to Mars, who answered his silent question.

Clearing his throat, he addressed the Romans for the first time since he returned, shouting so that all of them could here him clearly. "Romans! Most of you do not know me, but I expect you all to behave with the same dignity and respect as if you were speaking to one of your own." Silently, his chain tattoos seemed to slither around his arm, parting to reveal Percy's old SPQR tattoo. "I have been here before, and I know what you are all capable of, so do not disappoint me. You'll be informed of everything soon, so for now, just follow me."

A thought occurred to him mid-mini-speech, which made him face-palm, as he could feel the distrust spreading through the legion. "Ah, I haven't introduced myself to you lot yet, have I?" He riased his arm so that his SPQR tattoo was facing them. "I am Perseus Jackson, son of Neptune, former member of the Fourth Cohort, former Praetor of the Legion, bane of the Minotaur, slayer of Hyperion, slayer of Kronos, slayer of Polybotes, slayer of Gaea, and defender of New Rome, among other things. I have been fighting for you since before many of you were born, and right now, I am putting in my effort to give you and the Olympians a fighting chance in what is to come." Percy didn't really want to recite all those titles, but he remembered that the Romans respected things like that and he didn't feel like just telling them to follow him into a suspicious, glowing circle while they didn't trust him.

The entire crowd was silent as they realized that they were looking at a living legend, regardless of what he was accused of doing. Even with the final, and only, stain on his record, none could find it in them to disregard everything he'd done, even if they only knew about it from stories. He was the reason any of them could be there. They'd all heard the stories. There wasn't a single one of them at the time, and possibly even now, that really stood a chance against Polybotes in the legion, and, considering that the Tiber was right there, they'd have been overwhelmed easily by the water wielding giant, had he gone unchallenged.

Percy then turned around, not bothering to wait too long to give them time to digest all of that. "Now, I'm creating transportation to... well, you will all understand momentarily. Just follow my orders for a little. That is all I request." With that, he pushed his hand out and, once he was done a bit of chanting, a large circle that, once more, glowed ominously, appeared on the ground.

He turned back to them, looking out on the crowd as he tried to gauge the size of the force. "It will likely take a few go's, but all of you will be taken care of. Enter the circle, and I recommend going in large groups. Maybe even just go by cohort. I don't care how you wish to do this, so I will leave that up to your Praetors, but when you are done, you'll be in a circle in a different area. Make sure to exit that one so that the rest may follow. I'd wish you luck, but I know a simple task as this is well within your abilities."

With that, he was gone, and the Romans got to work. They'd taken his advice of going by cohort, so, as the first cohort filled up the circle, the rest waited and watched. It was a surprise when the ground in the circle turned black before they disappeared in a flash.

* * *

Back in Kansas(Lots of traveling this chapter, huh? Well, it still ain't over.)

* * *

As Percy arrived, he was treated to the sight of most of Camp-Half Blood already there, the last group arriving at that moment. Looking to the exit point he'd designated for the Romans, he saw that the First Cohort was popping out. Then, when he turned to the Camp Half-Blood circle, he had to sigh. "God damn it. These fucks are making me work way too hard. I better get paid a fortune for this shit." Once he was done grumbling to himself, he shot over there.

* * *

Camp Half-Blood

* * *

A flash of light in the branches of a tree indicated Percy's arrival. Again. "Okay," he called, getting their attention. "what the actual fuck." They were silent as they looked at each other then back to the ominously glowing circle. "Oh, I get it. You're all a bunch of pansies. Well, grow a pair, for you males, get your panties out of a bunch, for you females, and for those of you with unspecefied gender... I don't give a fuck, step in the circle. Oh, and that part goes for ALL of you. I don't give a shit if you identify as an Apache Attack Helicopter! GET YOUR ASS IN THE CIRCLE!" When he saw that they were all now staring at him in shock, he started to get pissed, the strain of maintaining the magic making him irritable.

Snapping his fingers, he made another three circles, boxing them in and giving them multiple entrance points. " **NOW!** " And like that, they scrambled to follow orders. With a sigh, Percy waited until the last of them were gone before he closed all four circles. "I'm starting to root for the monsters..." Shaking his head, he returned to the place he'd set out.

* * *

Kansas... Again

* * *

Percy showed up, expecting two groups of at least somewhat organized demigods. And that was what he got, much to the pleasure of his blood pressure. "DEMIGODS!" he shouted to get the attention of the rather massive group of hybrids. "Good. Now, I will explain what is going on and what's going to happen." At that moment, Percy went into drill sergeant mode.

Clearing his throat, Percy prepared to launch into an explanation as he closed the last of the portals. "I've gone through the process, at the request of your Olympians, of getting help for all of you. And I mean ALL of you. You will be fighting a war against monsters, so I called in a few favors to get you the help you NEED to have the slightest chance of survival. It is here that you will be training with those I have convinced to help. It is here that I will strip away the childish innocence and pathetic sense of honor that you have built up and adhere to. It is here that I will turn you all into the kind of warriors that survive this kind of fight. It is here that you will toss away the bonds that shackle the true potential of your power. It is here that you will learn how to dash your humanity on a whim."

There was dead silence for a moment as Percy paused. "It is here that you will learn to fight, even in the event of your death, and learn to survive, be it in spirit or in body. I will turn you into people worthy of being the victor, or kill you trying. If what you learn here cannot be engraved into your souls, you will lose. If what you learn here doesn't save you, you stood no chance to begin with." He scanned his audience, picking out and mentally marking down who showed signs of faltering from just his words. There were a great number among them.

"Hmm..." Was the only response Percy gave for a good half a minute as he scrutinized them. "It seems I have a lot of work to do. Many of you began to falter from just hearing my words. I will temper your resolve into adamantium. By the time we are done, you will not falter in the face of adversity of any sort, even me. And, if I do my job right, a group like this would also stand a ghost of a chance."

Percy floated above them and began to walk on air, a power that was now his, not his blessing's, due to Zeus. "Now," he continued, drawing their attention back to him, "don't expect hell on earth all the time. Working you to the bone, and I mean to the bone, will only happen every, oh, one, maybe two weeks. I will not force you all to immediately start fighting with sharpened, stygian iron swords while blindfolded in a sinking ship lit with greek fire." The description alone was enough to make many of them look at him like he was crazy.

"No, that won't be for at least a few months." And now many of them were convinced he was crazy. "I have already created a balanced schedule of relaxation and working your ass of, along with everything in between, that can be adapted for just about everything, even finding out that the monsters are launching their attack now. You should all survive, as I won't give anyone anything more than what they can do, just more than what they THINK they can do. And then, after digging deep in a life or death situation, you'll get the rest of the day off and take up to the next three days easy, depending on what you do."

"Now, as the Roman's are unaware of the full scope of what's coming, due to a god who won't do his job..." Percy paused so send Mars an accusing look, "... I will go over it. You are going to be going to war with monsters. Not the shit you called war previously. No, there will be no room for honor here. They'll let you get back for the sole purpose of beating you down again and again until they break you. Then, they'll devour you, if you're lucky. I won't elaborate on what happens if you aren't." Many of the audience members shivered at the thought, something Percy made note of, in order to correct it.

"Despite this," Percy continued, adding new vigor to his voice, "they don't even want you that much. No, their problem is with the current world leadership. The gods." There was dead silence for a moment as Percy stopped his small air stroll above Zeus. Looking down, he narrowed his eyes at the king of the gods before looking away. "You are in danger only because you stand between them and their goal, as do a lot of other things. They are preparing to go on a war path. I've managed to ensure that the Titan's won't interfere with this, or take advantage of you afterwards in your weakened state, nor will Gaea attempt to take you down here. But, unless you get really good, many of you will likely fall in this bout to protect your parents."

A lot of whispers went through the crowd, which Percy allowed for a grand total of ten seconds. Clearing his throat, Percy regained their attention and continued. "And that is why I am making them fight as well. For too long have they, and I mean this rather generally, made their children fight for them. For too long have they preferred to allow you, their CHILDREN, to address the problems of the world they are supposed to rule. So, since they wish to retain their rule, I will force them to act like real rulers." One could here the bomb he just dropped go off if they listened closely.

"Just as you demigods learn to unlock the true power you've been born with," Percy continued, walking beyond them towards the field, "those who have grown lax upon their thrones will be thrown into the heat of battle once more. As immortals, I CAN work them to the bone, though I will refrain. I will save the baptsim by fire for when I know the mindsets of everyone has changed to accommodate it." Stopped on the air as he stared out at the field, he allowed a few moments of silence before saying a word. "Any questions? I won't bite... for now."

No one was bold enough to even speak to him after the bombs he just dropped, but, eventually, one person managed to muster enough courage to raise a hand. It was Annabeth. "Yes, child of Athena?"

Said immortal flinched ever so slightly at the cold title from the familiar voice. "Wh-wh..." Annabeth paused to take a breath, making sure her voice came out confident and steady. "Where would we be training, exactly?" She gave herself a little pat on the back for managing not to stutter in that situation.

"Hmph," was his only response for a few seconds before he gave a dry chucke, his face adorned with a wry smile. "Figures you would be the one to ask the question." Shaking his head, he stretched out both hands. "Here's lesson one. Guess what level of immortal I am from this. Maybe I've changed since you last saw me. Maybe not. Oh, and take this, and every lesson I give you, as seriously as possible."

With that, he closed his eyes and began to shape the land. The ground split in certain areas while rising to make hills in others. Water poured into ditches formed on Percy's whim, and two small lakes formed, one near the middle of the land he faced while the other was to its left, nearing the street, though "near" was relative, due to the size of the land. A river formed between the two lakes then off to the side, down to the road. Then, the ground itself began to shake.

It got so intense that people were falling over left and right. When they regained their bearings, they looked around. Everything looked normal... except for the fact that they could see nothing but blue sky all around. The rivers, which had mysteriously stopped before, now kept flowing, and they could tell what had happened. They were floating. Percy had ripped a chunk of the earth out and was suspending it in midair.

Those who realized whipped their heads around to find a sweating but smirking Percy. Said immortal, super-powered demigod then got to work on everything else. He set up water portals between the bottom of the crater he just left before connecting said portals with the bottoms of the two lakes. Then, he began to fill the crater down there, creating a HUGE lake beneath them. Then, after he filled it, he created an island in the center. Building on it, he widened his creation until it was large enough to hold a couple skyscrapers.

Done down there for the time being, he began to weave a spell that would keep the island afloat for him, as it was becoming seriously taxing for him to keep an island afloat for so long. For a moment, the bottom of the island glowed a light purple before Percy slowly released his hold on the island, testing to see if the spell was stable. He released a deep sigh at that point, as he could finally relax that part of his mind, which was getting rather strained at that point.

Finally able to take his focus off maintaining the altitude of a chunk of earth, he started to build on the land he'd formed previously. On the west of the river(which was also west of the farm house), he created what one could call a path of pillars, each of them in the Corinthian style of Roman columns. At the front, though, he had two huge statues of Mars with a sword out to the side, covering the path to make an arch as the mirrored one another.

He made the road that followed the path into a replica of the roman road, though he layered the top with imperial gold, which he then covered with a spell to prevent both damage and thievery. Then, from memory, he reconstructed the barracks of New Rome. Oddly, though, this only took up a fourth of the total land available.

Then, on the other side, right in front of the obviously roman path, he began construction of what, by process of elimination, would be the greek side. He started to chant as he focused on what he knew about life, and, after a few moments, a few laurel wreaths began to grow. And they kept growing, getting to the point of being able to match the large statues of Mars they were facing. Then, as he topped chanting, they stopped growing. They'd, by his command, began to intertwine and arch over, touching the ground as they finished.

With a snap of his fingers and a deal of concentration, Percy froze them in time, leaving them to encircle the entrance forever. Then, behind them, he grew a multitude of trees. He sped up time so that they grew into rather large trees and, with a couple more seconds of chanting, he tied their life force to the floating island. If it was ever sunk, the trees would die.

Then, as he'd made it look nice enough, he cleared out the path then embedded stones along the path, fitting them loosely together. While not looking quite as sophisticated as the roman roads, the road had a more natural feel to it, which Percy thought was a bit more fitting.

Shaking his head, Percy concentrated really hard. He'd remade all the greek cabins already, having been prepared for this. Now, a ripple appeared in the sky above the greek side as Percy snapped his fingers. Then, it disappeared. Below, seemingly out of nothing, had appeared an exact replica of each and every greek cabin Percy had seen, with space for him to make more.

Now, he turned his attention down the river, to the other lake. Around it, he constructed a multitude of tables, while he had a large amount of fountains ring it with plates that collected water and allowed it to trickle back into the lake after drawing it up(magically). There were areas for serving and places to give sacrifices, which doubled as natural lighting, due to their even spacing. A bigger fire roared to life with a snap of Percy's fingers, behind it a statue of Hestia, who Percy still held a sense of attachment to. This fire was a straight shot down the river, directly across from the farm house, which placed it centrally.

Then he created a large amphitheatre off to the right of the dining area/mess hall in a depression he'd left in the ground, though it was to the left if you were looking towards the farm house. It was, in simpler terms, on the greek side. He constructed it out of a mixture of smoky black marble, stygian iron, and imperial gold, though the gold was more for accents than anything else. There was even a roof above it, supported with golden beams. Percy retracted it with a thought, though, leaving only structural pillars that doubles as decoration, as they contrasted well with the black seats.

On the other side of the mess hall, he began to concentrate once more, having worked on this with the help of a few protogenoi. When the ripple, similar to the ones that had appeared previously for the cabins but far bigger, disappeared, there was a massive dome, the purpose of which Percy didn't look like he was going to disclose, but they could only assume that it was part of their training in some form. As the dome didn't take up all the space, next to it Percy created training areas for everything from archery to broadsword fighting, and everything in between.

Mostly done with everything over there, he turned around to the farm house and snapped his fingers, creating a large wooden structure. A stable, the demigods would later recognize it as, though, as they were, they were a little to stunned to recognize much that wasn't obvious from the get-go. One thing that was obvious, though, was the touching up of the farm house and the periodically placed bridges Percy made along the river before deciding he was done.

He jumped into the lake after that, rejuvenating himself for a moment before springing back out in front of them. "I think that's about it for now." He didn't want to show it, but he was actually rather tired after all of that. Instead, though, he floated back up into the air and looked down to where he'd identified Annabeth earlier. "So, how's that for architecture, wise-girl." At this point, the nickname was more of an insult than anything else, and it had the same stinging effect it always did on her.

Percy, however paid it no mind. "Now," he continued, back to addressing the crowd of at least partly mythological figures, "guess. Let's see who's able to observe the best out of you." There were no hands as they started discussing among themselves as best they could in their shocked states.

After a full minute of no one answering, Artemis put her hand up with a sigh. "Why yes, Arty? And do explain your answer." Percy's voice reminded the demigods of a teacher speaking to a child, though Artemis ignored it completely.

"You're still a demigod." And like that everyone thought she was crazy. That is, until she started backing it up. "Last I saw your blood, it was red. Then, when he strained, there was a light tint of red to your face, not the gold of a god or titan. Then there's the fact that you can't travel around how immortals do: by revealing their true form then using the power to move to our desired location. There's no way you're anything more than an immortal demigod." There was dead silence as it sunk in. A demigod just did all of that.

Percy allowed them a moment to let it sink in. "Good," he began after a minute or so of waiting. "Then again, you are a hunter, so I shouldn't expect less of you." He took a moment so shake his head, realizig why she was able to piece it together so much better than the others. "Well, I do have one correction to make. I'm only a partial immortal. I can be killed and won't come back, unlike you, who would return after a while. Regardless, this is just another thing we will have to work on if you wish to survive."

Lowering himself down to the water's surface, Percy began to walk along it. "Follow." The entire crowd did as told, the Poseidon/Neptune crew following on the water. "These," Percy explained as he reached the two paths he'd built, "are your quarters. You can tell which is which, I'd imagine. And if you somehow can't, ask a friend. If we get to the point that you are all comfortable enough with each other, I may even merge them and free up space to add something extra. Now, follow along. We have much more to see."

As they walked, Percy continued to make minute changes to things. A tree lining here. A pillar or two there. The island was really a work in progress, and said progress was visible to any who bothered to look around.

Eventually they reached the mess hall, which all of them marveled at, seeing it up close for the first time. All but Percy, who walked up to the largest flame and smiled. Next to him appeared a woman with red hair and a covering that looked rather similar to the statue Percy had made. Hestia. Before she could say anything, Percy cut her off. "Don't thank me. There's no need for that." He looked to his left, where she resided, with a small smile. "Besides, I figure they need some more hope if they were to prevail. And where better..."

She smiled softly at him as she nodded, fading into nothing once more. Percy shook his head and turned back to the crowd, which was starting to return their attention back to him. He could still feel the comforting presence of Hestia, regardless of whether she was visible, and he didn't have to worry about her leaving. He knew she wouldn't.

Instead, he splayed his hands out to the side. "There will be no enforced segregation here. You may sit wherever and with whoever you wish. In fact, I encourage it, for the petty arguments of your parents are another shackle I seek to shatter. They limit your teamwork far more than you imagine. Children of Ares and Athena, of Zeus and Poseidon, of Hephaestus and Ares, of Athena and Poseidon..." He paused to wink at the crowd for that one. "Hell, even the hunters of Artemis and children of Apol-..."

He paused, realizing that THAT mix would need a lot more time to be eased into. "Uh, we'll see about that one." A round of laughter went across the crowd as the hunters nodded at Percy's correction. Percy cleared his throat, to regain their attention after a moment. "Well, uh, you get the point. THAT feud is more than the argument between Artemis and Apollo, but the others are just you acting out your parents petty argument, which they can never seem to finish for whatever reason." He gave Athena a small glare, as he had PERSONAL experience with her grudge. She didn't meet his eye, though she did sweat.

"Anyway," Percy continued, "that is the purpose of this. To allow you to tear down the barriers your parents have set up. You will work together and win together, or you will fall together. Simple as that." Then he gestured towards the amphitheatre. "Now, ladies, gentlemen, and those of unspecified gender, is the new amphitheatre. Don't worry about lighting, as I'm imbued it with a light Lumnos spell, giving enough light to see where you're going at all times. We'll focus on that later, though. For now..."

He walked to the side that the dome was raised a hand. "This, people, is probably me second greatest creation ever. Eat your heart out Hecate and Hephaestus, for this is the Biodome. Using spacial displacement runes and matter recollecting spells, I've managed to create a dome that simulates just about any environment you can think of, from the vacuum of space to the bottom of the sea to the center of an active fucking volcano. If you can think of it, I can make you experience it... ten times more intense that you think possible."

He looked rather smug as he crossed his arms, smirking at his creation. "A sinking ship lit with greek fire is child's play so simulate with this. I've actually been working on the spells for this for a long time, and I finished them around, oh, 50... no, 60 years ago. My time, mind you. It was only 12.5 to 15 years ago for you guys. Still, took a lot of trial, error, and ambrosia to build this bad boy."

Percy turned around, smirk still firmly in place on his face. "You can keep that concealment spell you, ah, "adapted," Hecate, because I've moved onto bigger things!"

Seeing the confused looks on some of their faces, and the outrage of some of Hecate's children, he decided to explain. "Oh, you don't know. Forgot. Well, Hecate and I met every so often while I stayed in Tartarus, and the meetings would last a while. She'd found out that I learned some magic and helped me out. By the time I caught up, we were outright working together. But that spell that she gave to Hephaestus was for concealment of my home and it's energy signal, not the concealment of your location whenever you used your little demigod phones. I even showed her the prototype for concealing phone signals, which was my idea to begin with, and she took that and ran with it."

There was dead silence as Hecate blushed. "You're all welcome, by the way." Was the next thing Percy said. "I understand why you had to be underhand about it. I REALLY didn't like demigods at that time, so if I knew you were helping them with it, I probably would've flipped. Still, not cool... but I don't care anymore. Do whatever you want with it." She looked really relieved that he was chill about it. "But," he continued, "if you pay attention, that's part of the spell surrounding this entire area, so you don't have to worry about that. No need to waste extra battery by turning concealment on." A good chunk of the demigods cheered at that. It really ate away at your battery life.

A mass chuckling was heard at that point, which made Percy scowl and blush slightly. These voices weren't normal voices. Two, somehow, sounded like waves crashing onto a cliff face, while another gave off an airy feel. Yet another was dark, making you feel as though it was the darkest night possible and you could only stare of into the sky, waiting for the sun, while another, in contrast, gave off such brightness that one would wish for the embrace of the night. There were others, too. One that gave a sense of foreboding, one that gave a sense of moving yet going no where.

Some made you feel tiny, others made you feel light. Some made you happy while others filled you with dread. One, the most powerful laugh of all, was more of a feeling than any form of sound, yet they could still identify it as a laugh. It made you feel empty, yet full at the same time. Like you had so much inside you that you were about to explode. You wanted to cease to exist as a single entity from the feeling, and just spread out as evenly as possible, attaining a sort of equilibrium.

Your individuality didn't matter in the face of this feeling.

Nothing did.

Only your existence and how it should end. Where it will go, beyond even the after life. When you returned to that which all of creation sprung. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. From nothing everything came, and to nothing it will return. Back to the void.

Percy's sigh broke them of their trances. "Oh, stop scaring them already. Some of them are about to pass out." You could feel the pout from... whatever was capable of making such sounds.

Suddenly, a host of characters appeared. No one had to introduce them, as everyone could tell from the feeling of their presence that they were beyond the gods, beyond the titans. They were Protegenoi. The basics, the building blocks on which the world exists. They even saw Gaea among their ranks, but could do little about it, really. They could barely handle being near them as they were, let alone fight back if the protogenoi wished to end them.

Once more, Percy stepped in on their behalf. "Okay, their getting sorta light headed now. May wanna lay off." They either rolled their eyes, shrugged, or sighed. But they complied. Then, they proceeded to greet him like old friends, which they kind of were. Percy had to keep it short, though, as he had introductions to get to. "Okay, these are the Protogenoi, or primordial deities, as many refer to them as. You better consider yourselves very lucky, because I got them to agree to both not interfere in this war and help train you all."

With the overbearing immortal presence that they gave off gone, people were getting a bit more brave. They associated them with bad news, due to Gaea more than anything else, so they were understandable suspicious. One asked, "How do we know you "accidentally" kill us all while training? If anything, how do we know you'll even bother helping us?" As people started to see the logic behind the statement, more and more rallied behind it.

The protogenoi, however, just began to laugh, to varying degrees. Some cracked up, others hid their chuckle behind their hands, and others did something in between. Percy, however only blushed. "I may have agreed to some terms... you better be fucking grateful." He grumbled the last part to himself, though, as they were focused on him, many heard it and were confused.

The general question of what terms came across the crowd, making the protogenoi look at Percy with devious faces, for the most part. Khaos was the one to give an answer. "Oh, nothing too big. He jus-" Suddenly, a piece of tape appeared on her mouth, as odd as it was when she seemed to made of the lack of things.

Percy just glared at her with a small blush, which he'd been getting under control the whole time. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing." His words failed in conveying what his eyes did, and they spoke of every ounce of suffering he'd find a way to put them through if even one of them spoke. Khaos got rid of the tape with ease but put her hands up in surrender, not saying anything else.

Sighing, Percy turned back to the demigods, turning his sleeves into his skin tight shirt with face mask in order to maintain his appearance of authority. "ANYWAY, they will be teaching you." He switched into drill sergeant mode in order to regain any lost authority over them. "You have the rest of the day to get used to the layout of this place, but lunch is in half an hour, so put down your stuff, maybe wash off, or whatever, then get back here. Dismissed!" They felt compelled to salute him then march away before realizing what they were doing.

Percy, once they were gone, looked over to the protogenoi. "Okay, let's lay down some ground rules. Not one of you will be revealing what I had to do to get you to do this. If even a word of it passes any of your lips in revelation of our terms, I will bring it out. And I will use it to kill a fucking protogenoi... or ten." They had no problems with that, allowing Percy to breathe a sigh of... slight relief.

About ten minutes later, Percy was taking a dip in the lake as he waited. He ended up sitting at the bottom of the lake, pondering things that were to come. Who he thought would survive. Who he thought would "win". _'There's never a winner in war. Only the ones that are able to stand when it is all over.'_ He had to sigh to himself at the thought. He knew that it was better if he just let the monsters overrun the gods and be over with, but that wouldn't be all too fair. At the very least, he'll give them the tools of victory, but how well they were able to use said "tools" would be up to them.

He felt Artemis flash in beside him, and smirked. "Sup, Arty."

"Arty" just stared at him for a while before sighing. "What are they?"

"What are what?" was Percy's oh so eloquent response. Albeit, a warranted response, but still.

Artemis floated in front of him and looked him in the eyes, not in the mood for him avoiding her questions. "What are the terms?" she asked/demanded. "You wouldn't have shown such a reaction if it wasn't bad."

At that, Percy made sure to suppress a light blush. "Oh, YOU will find out soon enough."

She couldn't help but narrow her eyes at him. "What do you mean?"

Seeing no way out of telling her, besides running, which would prompt her to chase him, he relented. "Promise you won't hurt me." Warily, she did. "Do you mean that?" This time she nodded, getting a bit anxious.

Taking a deep breath, Percy asked a question that he didn't see himself asking in a long time. "Uh..." Despite getting her to agree to preserving his safety, he still braced for impact. "Wanna grab some lunch tomorrow? There's also a movie that I've been dying to see and a good amusement park around..." He trailed off when he saw her staring at him with a "stop stalling" look.

"I'm serious!" he explained, or at least started to. Her confused look made him face palm.

Sighing, he looked around for naiads, which wasn't very likely considering how recently he made everything. He sighed once more and tried to calm down his fight or flight reflex which was screaming at him to run away and not say a thing. Resolve set, he opened his eyes, both of them a deep sea green that locked onto her silver ones.

They stayed like that for a few moments before he actually spoke. "Artemis," he began, "will you go out with me?"

Artemis just blinked. "What?"

* * *

A/N: AAAAAAAnd cut. I'll leave it on a cliff hanger, because I'm evil. Anyway, I feel like you can guess the terms of the Protogenoi's service from the last few lines of this. If not, I will give you a warning. Prepare for the most vanilla, fluff-filled chapter I have ever written in my life. **Shivers**. Seriously, though, I'll explain it for those who couldn't get it. The Protogenoi, in return for their help, wanted to see one thing without Percy interrupting their view.

His first, and possibly only, date with Artemis.

Just about every one of them ship the hell out of the two. Even if a relationship doesn't work out for the two, they want to see that. And they wanna see that baaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. As do I. And yet, I'm not that big on love. Go figure.

Regardless, this is literally them forcing Percy to go out on a date with "Arty", as I've structured his character in a fashion that wouldn't allow him to do so otherwise. I kinda needed to do this, the more I think about it. Oh, but wait until you see what happens during the date. Not gonna spoil it, but I'll say this much. I hope you like movies. And that is no where near as straight forward as it seems.

Moving on, I must say that school throws any semblance of a schedule right out the fucking window with me. Sadly, I won't really be able to post too regularly for a little while, for reasons other that school this time. Unless I get REALLY lucky, that is.

* * *

 **Small Rant Incoming - You have been warned.**

* * *

My mom went through a somewhat minor surgery recently. The danger to her life was negligible, but she had something removed from her leg, which has left her with limited mobility. So, as the son of a single mother, the responsibilities she would normally take care of fall upon my shoulders. And that takes up a lot of my writing time.

Here's an example of my evening, so you can understand why I can't get more than five minutes in which I can take a break and write. When I get home, which would usually be the time when I have a chance of writing, I shower, do homework for an hour or so, make dinner, eat dinner, clean up after dinner, attempt to finish homework, then try to be in bed before 2 am. Other times I have to tack on laundry, trash, or music lessons mandated by my mother to the aforementioned list of things to finish in a respectable amount of time. Weekends are only marginally better.

Sometimes they're worse, though. I might have extra things shoved onto me. Like recently when I had a rather big test. Mum made me study. And I mean STUDY. And yes, something I can classify as a big test in the second month of school. Speaking of school, this week seemed to be "fuck the students over with fifty tests in one week" week.

Seriously, though, it was kind of ridiculous. Digital Electronics CLASS feels like a test, and a test in that class feels like hell. And that's one of, what, 8 classes? One would think Health would be a break class, or even Physical Education, but NOPE! Got tests and homework from them too. Hell, I got a project from PE and one coming up in Health.

Speaking of classes, though, I really must wonder why I'm required to take an English class. A class on the language I speak quite well, in my humble opinion, is rather pointless and wastes both time and a period I could be dedicating to furthering my education. I know that an English class is a salient part of building skill in communication, critical thinking, etc., but I'd prefer to double up on something more useful for my current goal of being an engineer(specializing in nanomechanics is the end goal there). It's really frustrating at times.

* * *

 **Small Rant Over - Safe reading may resume.**

* * *

Ah, first world problems. I have them in spades, and I let them build up far too much. Oh no, I'm being forced to take a class that will give me information and practice that's likely going to be applicable in the real world! What ever will I do!? Seriously, though, don't take any of that seriously. It was just me getting it off my chest. I feel far better now that I've said that. If you need to rant, feel free. Hell, maybe you just need to rant about it. Venting is good for your health. Seriously. I had to memorize that for my health test. I know.

Ignoring me and my problems, critiques and comments are welcome. As always, thanks for taking the time to read this and have a nice life! R&R!


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